The First Medal of Honor

Born in Fairfield County, Ohio, Parrott was four years old when his father died. His mother passed away six years later, leaving him to support himself with farm labor and cabinetry for most of his teen years. He joined a three-month regiment after the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, and later that year as the Civil War continued, he enlisted once more as a private in the 33^rd Ohio Infantry. In April 1862, while the regiment was stationed in Tennessee, his captain called him from his tent and asked if he would volunteer for a secret mission.

Two dozen men from three Ohio regiments were selected for this hazardous duty, a plan concocted by a Union spy who went by the name J. J. Andrews. Andrews and the soldiers would make their way through Confederate territory until they reached the heart of Georgia. From there they would steal a train and run it north to meet the Union army, which would be marching towards Chattanooga under General O. M. Mitchel. Along the way, the raiders would tear up track and burn the railroad bridges behind them, effectively severing one of the South's major supply lines.

Samuel Robertson, 33rd Ohio Inf., Co. G

The men, dressed in civilian clothes, broke up into small groups to sneak across Tennessee, and Parrott joined up with another 18-year-old private named Samuel Robertson. For days the two marched through mud and pouring rain, avoiding detection as they infiltrated enemy territory. Early Saturday morning, April 12, they rejoined the other soldiers who had reached Marietta, Georgia, and there the group boarded a Western & Atlantic train called The General. 

The raiders stole the train as planned during a stop in Big Shanty while the other passengers and crew were eating breakfast at a nearby hotel. Andrews and three soldiers who acted as the engineers and fireman took control of the engine while Parrott and the remaining men climbed into an empty box car. Within minutes the train was speeding away, in full sight of a Confederate encampment. The General's conductor and a railroad supervisor immediately gave chase.

Stealing The General at Big Shanty

As they raced the General towards Chattanooga, the Union men left a trail of cut telegraph wires and torn railroad tracks in their wake - but unexpected delays and a lack of tools slowed their progress. Their plan to burn bridges too was thwarted, by heavy rains that doused any fire they tried to start. Their pursuers were able to bypass the obstructions the raiders threw at them - first by running, then with a portable pushcart, and finally by jumping from one train to the next. Even uncoupled boxcars left on the tracks only managed to slow them down. Finally, the Great Locomotive Chase came to an end as the raiders ran out of fuel to power the steam engine, and the train came to a shuddering stop only 18 miles from Chattanooga.

The Union raiders had no way of knowing how many men were on the train behind them. Andrews, who was a civilian rather than military, ordered his men to abandon the General rather than attempt to fight. The soldiers leaped from the engine and took off in different directions, but a massive manhunt was already underway.

As they scattered from the train, Parrott once again paired up with Robertson, and the two ran for the woods. Within hours, though, they were captured by a group of men and brought to a nearby Confederate encampment. Parrott, who was the younger of the two, and with his boyish face appeared it, was targeted for questioning. When he refused to provide any answers, a lieutenant took him outside, stripped him, and began to whip him in front of a mob of angry spectators. They paused in his beating several times to give Parrott the chance to confess the object of their raid and to name his companions - especially the leader and engineers. Each time the young man refused, and they continued to whip him. He was given over a hundred lashes they before finally relented. The mob brought a rope to hang him and Robertson, but a Confederate colonel arrived in time to stop it.

Parrott and Robertson were taken to a jail in Chattanooga and placed in a small underground cell. There they were reunited with the entire raiding party, all of whom would be captured in the following days. The 22 men were handcuffed and chained by the neck in pairs, and crammed inside a room so tightly packed there wasn't enough space for everyone to lie down. Throughout their captivity, they would be transferred from one prison to another, suffering through varying degrees of rough conditions, poor sanitation and malnutrition.

Swims Jail in Chattanooga

Almost two months after the raid, their leader, Andrews, was hanged as a spy in Atlanta. Two weeks later, seven more raiders were also executed, including an ailing Robertson. The hanged men had been selected arbitrarily for a court martial a few weeks prior, and it was only because reports of Union advancement had interrupted the proceedings that more men hadn't been tried. Fearing a similar fate, the remaining men arranged to break out of their Atlanta prison in October. The majority of the raiders were able to escape in the attempt, eventually reaching Union lines after weeks on the run.

Parrott, however, was caught before making it past the fence, and he and the five others who were recaptured remained prisoners in the South. They were eventually moved to the notorious Castle Thunder jail in Richmond, where they endured a long, brutal winter with little protection against the cold – until finally, on March 17^th, they were released as part of a large prisoner of war exchange.

After their release, they went to Washington DC to report their mission and following ordeal. A few days later, on March 25, they were summoned to the office of the Secretary of War, who had heard of their story and asked to meet them. At this point in the war, Stanton had been frustrated with reluctant generals who had made little progress so far, and Andrews' Raid, while unsuccessful, had at least been a daring attempt. According to accounts of the visit, Stanton seemed especially impressed by Parrott, with his quiet manners and humble background. Parrott turned down his offer for a full education, saying he preferred to return to his regiment and fight.

It was during this informal meeting that Stanton brought out six small cases. He announced that Congress had approved the creation of a new medal of honor, and that their party would be the first to receive them. Then, presumably because Parrott was the youngest of the party and the one who had suffered the most, Stanton presented the first one to him. (Outside of a few exceptions, the rest of Andrews' raiders would also be awarded the Medal of Honor, the executed men posthumously.)

In addition to the Medal of Honor, the six men were promoted to lieutenants and also received $100 in cash. Then, after a meeting with President Lincoln and a brief furlough to their Ohio homes, they returned to their former regiments. Parrott, who was still unable to read and write, soon felt out of place as an officer and attempted to resign from the position. His resignation was promptly rejected, however, and he went on to fight with his company in a series of battles, including those at Chattanooga and Chickamauga. Two years after the raid, he found himself once more following the same route into Georgia, this time as part of General Sherman's March to the Sea.

Jacob Parrott, several years after the raid

As a result of his whipping and subsequent imprisonment, Parrott was afflicted with poor health for the rest of his life. His back bore permanent scars, and damage done to his spinal cord and nerves left him with a limp and other medical complications. After the war, he settled in Hardin County, Ohio, where he married and had a son. He tried farming and later ran a quarry business, and aside from a few public Andrews Raiders reunions, he lived a relatively low-key and quiet life. In 1908, at the age of 65, he collapsed on the street and died.

The first Medal of Honor, the one awarded to Jacob Parrott and later donated by his family, is now on display at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.