THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE (WHICH RESULTED IN) OUR NATIONS FIRST MEDAL OF HONOR
1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast
Jon Hagadorn
4.4 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 15 June 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On the 26th of March, 1863, the first six Medals of Honor were awarded to 6 surviving members of the Andrew's Raiders, who, one year earlier , had participating in a daring union raid into the south to commandeer a railroad engine and hobble Confederate supply lines around Chattanooga. The first of the six went to private Jacob Parrott.
This is the story.
Resources:
• https://www.thoughtco.com/great-locomotive-chase-2360250
• Andrews Raiders - Warfare History Network https://warfarehistorynetwork.com
• Bravery remembered: Civil War raiders recognized for Great Locomotive Chase: https://www.army.mil
• Great Locomotive Chase - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Locomotive_Chase
• Marker Monday: Western & Atlantic Railroad Tunnel - Georgia Historical Society https://georgiahistory.com
• The Great Locomotive Chase - AMERICAN HERITAGE https://www.americanheritage.com
• The Great Locomotive Chase - Largest U.S. Army Veteran Directory + Service History Archive https://www.togetherweserved.com
• The Great Locomotive Chase - WVTF https://www.wvtf.org
• The Great Locomotive Chase: The First Awarded Medals of Honor https://www.cmoh.org
Capturing a Locomotive: My Account of the Great Railroad Adventure by Rev. William Pittenger
Resources:
https://www.thoughtco.com/great-locomotive-chase-2360250
Andrews Raiders - Warfare History Network https://warfarehistorynetwork.com
Bravery remembered: Civil War raiders recognized for Great Locomotive Chase: https://www.army.mil
Great Locomotive Chase - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Locomotive_Chase
Marker Monday: Western & Atlantic Railroad Tunnel - Georgia Historical Society https://georgiahistory.com
The Great Locomotive Chase - AMERICAN HERITAGE https://www.americanheritage.com
The Great Locomotive Chase - Largest U.S. Army Veteran Directory + Service History Archive https://www.togetherweserved.com
The Great Locomotive Chase - WVTF https://www.wvtf.org
The Great Locomotive Chase: The First Awarded Medals of Honor https://www.cmoh.org
Capturing a Locomotive: My Account of the Great Railroad Adventure by Rev. William Pittenger
Music and Sound Effect Credit:
Sound Effect by Kammerin Hunt from Pixabay: Run
Sound Effect by freesound_community from Pixabay: One Train, Men working, small steam locomotive, steam train at crossing, train horn and passing
Sound Effect by Pig Bank - Mood from Pixabay: Rain
Sound Effect by Sandro Lima from Pixabay: Train #3
Sound Effect by Roger Harding from Pixabay: Steam Engine Pulling Away
Sound Effect by Paweł Spychała from Pixabay: Train Passing
Production Assistant:
Gizelle Erickson - Imagination Weaver
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The |
| 0:07.0 | The Welcome back to 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories, and Mysteries podcast. |
| 0:37.0 | This is your host, John Hagadorn. |
| 0:39.0 | And this year we're celebrating 10 years of sharing history with you, and it's been a |
| 0:43.1 | fantastic journey so far, thanks to each and every one of you. |
| 0:47.3 | Today we bring you a tale that conquers up the sounds of a speeding locomotive, |
| 0:51.8 | explosions of bridges and tunnels, and a group of courageous |
| 0:54.9 | men who rode the last rail to give a leading edge in the fight for all men to be free. |
| 1:01.8 | There have been movies made and books written about this epic adventure, but if you want to |
| 1:06.7 | really know what happened and get the feeling you were there, you have to go to the source. |
| 1:11.4 | We have the first-hand account of William Pittinger, a corporal and company G of the |
| 1:16.0 | Second Regiment of Ohio Volunteers, who has left us his autobiography. |
| 1:21.0 | Give a listen, and you'll know how it felt to be on a locomotive racing for your life |
| 1:25.6 | in the pursuit of freedom. |
| 1:28.6 | Just recently, our Lions of Savo two-part audio story did extremely well. |
| 1:34.4 | Our listeners letting us know they enjoyed the actual story being shared with us by Lieutenant |
| 1:38.8 | Colonel Patterson through his autobiography, supporting our narration, resulting in giving you the true story, |
| 1:45.5 | literally putting you there in the experience, |
| 1:48.3 | what we call making history come alive. |
| 1:51.8 | Welcome to this week's 1001 hero story |
| 1:54.5 | given true color by William Pittinger's story, |
| 1:57.6 | capturing a locomotive. |
... |
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