Ohio Civil War Veterans Will Posthumously Be Awarded Medals of Honor

Privates Shadrach and Wilson Heroically Defended the Union and Made the Ultimate Sacrifice for Our Country

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, following calls from U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ohioans and Civil War Veterans Private Philip (Perry) G. Shadrach and Private George D. Wilson will posthumously be awarded Medals of Honor for their bravery and dedication to protecting the Union. Privates Shadrach and Wilson were members of the Andrews’ Raiders – 22 men from Ohio who were members of the 2nd Ohio Infantry. Privates Shadrach and Wilson gave their lives to protect the Union. They are the only two Raiders who were not awarded the Medal of Honor due to a clerical error.

Since 2015 Brown has called on multiple presidents to correct this error and posthumously award Privates Shadrach and Wilson the Medal of Honor. In October, Brown called on President Biden to take action and previously pushed the Department of Defense and White House to re-examine this historical oversight and award the Medal of Honor to these deserving soldiers. At each step of review, Brown worked to ensure that the historical record was corrected. This involved engaging the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of Defense, and ultimately the President.

“Privates Shadrach and Wilson heroically served our nation during the Civil War, making the ultimate sacrifice to protect the Union – but because of a clerical error, they never received the Medal of Honor they each earned. It’s why we’ve been calling on the White House since 2015 to posthumously award Privates Shadrach and Wilson Medals of Honor to recognize their bravery, sacrifice, and dedication to our country,” said Brown.

Brown’s efforts were bipartisan and Bicameral, building on the work of former Congressman Dave Hobson (R-OH) to secure the recognition these brave Civil War veterans earned. Former Congressman Hobson successfully added an amendment to the fiscal year 2008 National Defense Authorization Act granting the authority to posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Private Shadrach and Private Wilson.

“I am proud to have played a part in seeing that Pvt. Shadrach and Pvt. Wilson receive the honors they rightly deserve. What started as a request from a constituent in Fairfield County led to me sponsoring language in the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act waiving the three-year time limit for the soldiers’ Medal of Honor applications so that this historic error could be corrected. While it’s disappointing that the Army resisted this for so long, I am glad my initial efforts helped lay a foundation for work by Sen. Brown and others to move the soldiers’ case forward and make this recognition possible,” said Former Congressman Dave Hobson.