Descendants of 2 Ohio soldiers who took part in daring Andrews Raid make visit to where they were hanged as spies. The men finally received the Medal of Honor this year, and families also saw their new headstones

The new headstones for Perry Shadrach and George Wilson in Chattanooga (Picket photos)

I am just back from Chattanooga, Tenn., where I covered Sunday afternoon's unveiling of new Medal of Honor headstones for two participants in the Union’s Andrews Raid during the Civil War.

The story of the Great Locomotive Chase and the bravery of its volunteers has to be one of the most memorable and moving I have reported on in the Picket’s 15 years.

The sabotage mission along the Western & Atlantic Railroad from Atlanta to Chattanooga in 1862 was a tactical failure, but was a boost to the war-weary North and brought the first Medal of Honors.

Descendants of raiders, supporters and loved ones at Tunnel Hill in Georgia (Picket photo)

Eight raiders were hanged in Atlanta as spies after the Great Locomotive Chase, among them Pvt. George D. Wilson and Pvt. Perry Shadrach, who were finally awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously this past summer.

Descendants from all over, mostly Ohio, traveled to the South to take a bus tour Saturday along the Georgia route of the locomotive chase involving the locomotives General and the Texas.

They visited the Coolidge Medal of Honor National Heritage Center on Sunday, where they saw the new Wilson medal and one for fellow raider Jacob Parrott, before traveling to Chattanooga National Cemetery for a moving ceremony at the gravesites. (At left, retired Army Gen. Burwell B. Bell III with photos of Shadrach and Wilson)

I was with descendants over the weekend and posted about 40 (whew) updates on Facebook

I feel so lucky to have been there and be entrusted with these stories – not only the sacrifice of these men, but the long effort by their families and supporters to see that Shadrach and Wilson receive the nation’s top military medal for incredible valor. There were a lot of twists and turns as they tried to right a wrong (or oversight).

I hope to write a longer post but, for now, please see all the updates on the Picket’s Facebook page. These vignettes gave me insight into the families behind these American heroes.

Thanks so much for your interest!

2022's Top 11 Picket posts: Manassas marker mystery, Enfield rifles, artillery finds, Mary Surratt's bonnet and much more

The top 11 Civil War Picket posts – by Blogger page views -- in 2022 covered the spectrum, with an abiding interest in artifacts and archaeology. Among them: discovered artillery shells at national parks, the return of a long last marker to Manassas and the bonnet belonging to Lincoln conspirator Mary Surratt.

We’ve got a few items in the works and we look forward to rolling those and others out in 2023. Thanks so much for your continued interest. Please tell a friend or two about us. Happy New Year!

11. THE SULTANA STORY: A new Arkansas museum focusing on this little-known Civil War maritime disaster will feature artifacts from the current two-room venue, recently collected items and professionally produced exhibits that will tell all facets of the story. – Read more

10. LITTLE ROUND TOP: Gettysburg National Military Park has been implementing rehabilitation projects at sites on the battlefield that have suffered from the effects of erosion and crowds that have worn down trails and other features. Little Round Top remains closed for improvements. – Read more

9. UNEARTHED ARTILLERY ROUND: A team working on a trail project at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park near Atlanta got a reading while using a metal detector. Their discovery: a Parrott round about a foot below the surface. -- Read more

8. USS MONITOR: Twenty years ago this past summer, the turret of USS Monitor broke the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off the North Carolina coast, the crowning achievement in the recovery of much of the legendary Civil War ironclad. – Read more

7. LINCOLN CONSPIRATOR’S BONNET: Many visitors to the Drummer Boy Civil War Museum in Andersonville, Ga., are surprised to learn it displays a quilted black bonnet worn by convicted and hanged Lincoln conspirator Mary Surratt. A New Orleans conservator stabilized and did repairs on the unusual artifact. – Read more

6. REMEMBERING VINCE DOOLEY: The former University of Georgia football coach and athletics director, who died in October, brought celebrity and a real passion for history when he toured and backed preservation of battlefields or attended meetings of the Atlanta Civil War Roundtable. The Picket asked those who knew him about their memories and thoughts on Dooley's legacy in the history field. – Read more

5. SURPRISE FIND AT FORT SUMTER: A keen-eyed visitor at Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired, in August noticed a corroded cannonball protruding from the lower parade ground, prompting a bomb squad to be brought in. – Read more

4. MANSASSA MARKER COMES HOME: A missing stone fragment that once marked a position held by a bloodied Georgia regiment is back at the Manassas battlefield in Virginia, ending a saga that began decades ago. The Civil War marker’s story is a fragmented tale whose pieces finally came together earlier this year when the chunk of marble was donated to the park by a small private school in McLean, about 45 minutes away. How did it end up at the school? – Read more

3. BIG RIG SMASHES MONUMENT: A rural community in northern Ohio hopes to pick up the pieces – literally – and rebuild a Civil War monument that was obliterated when a tractor trailer careened through a downtown square. The stone memorial in LaGrange with a soldier on top was shattered and a flagpole was crushed. – Read more

2. RARE ENFIELD RIFLES: Conservation of 20 British-made rifles intended for Confederate use is in a significant new phase, as specialists in Georgia have removed two of them from an aquarium tank so they can be treated with a wood preservative. The Pattern 1853 Enfields were carried by a blockade runner and lost when it hit a sandbar in Charleston, S.C, in 1863. – Read more

1. RELIC HUNTER CAUGHT AT CHANCELLORSVILLE: A Virginia man paid a civil penalty of more than $15,000 after he was caught using a metal detector and digging on the Chancellorsville battlefield in Virginia, officials said. The unidentified Alexandria man “was very forthcoming because he did not realize he was on federal property and gave up anything he had,” the park superintendent said. – Read more

2021's top 11 Picket posts: Hurricane leaves a surprise, Cockspur Lighthouse, submarine Hunley skipper, Longstreet and more

Hurricane Ida uncovered these artillery shells in Florida (Gulf Islands National Seashore)

The top 11 Civil War Picket posts -- by page views -- in 2021 covered the spectrum. Among them: a bayonet found in a yard, cannonballs uncovered by Hurricane Ida and the lingering mystery of a coffin found near Fort McAllister in Georgia.

We’ve got a few items in the works and we look forward to rolling those and others out in 2022. Thanks so much for your continued interest. Please tell a friend or two about us. Happy New Year!

11. USS MONITOR: The little ironclad that could sported two Dahlgren guns in its famous rotating turret. Conservators at the Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, Va., were honored this year by the Navy for cleaning their barrels of salts and sediment, keeping them on the path for one day being put on display. -- Read more

10. JAMES LONGSTREET: The Longstreet Society in Gainesville, Ga., acquired a brief but fascinating letter from the legendary Confederate general seeking a federal pension 20 years after the Civil War’s end. Longstreet expressed guarded hope that his valiant service in the U.S. Army in the Mexican-American War would outweigh any concerns about him later donning the gray uniform. -- Read more

9. UNEARTHED BAYONET: An Illinois man tilling a garden came across something way the down the list of possible surprises: A rusted bayonet. Did it belong to a soldier serving in Ulysses S. Grant’s first Civil War command?  -- Read more

The bayonet in its temporary exhibit (Nick Little, Market House Antiques)

8. “FIGHTING JOE WHEELER”: A quick jaunt to the Brown’s Mill cavalry battlefield below Atlanta recalls one horrible day for Federal troopers in 1864. Riders under the command of Confederate Lt. Gen. Joseph “Fighting Joe” Wheeler raised hell and sent a Yankee general fleeing across the river into Alabama. -- Read more

7. MYSTERY COFFIN: We invited you to come read the adventure of one coffin, 20 rifles and two caretakers of Georgia history. And you did. The coffin found at Fort McAllister State Park near Savannah is being conserved and officials might use the same chemical treatment on Enfield rifles (right) that were smuggled into Charleston Harbor but were lost when the blockade runner ran aground. -- Read more

6. IRONCLAD REMOVAL CONCLUDED: The CSS Georgia, while woefully underpowered, did its job in Savannah, Ga. It was among a myriad of stationary defenses that kept Federal forces from sailing into the city during the Civil War. Federal officials have now wrapped up their removal of the gunboat’s debris as part of a harbor deepening project. -- Read more

5. CAMP LAWTON SKIRMISH: Archaeology students at a Georgia university found artifacts that might derive from a skirmish between Union and Confederate cavalry during Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea. The fighting took place near a Confederate POW camp that held Union prisoners for several weeks in autumn 1864.  -- Read more

Spencer rifle casing and toe tap with nails
(Courtesy Camp Lawton Archaeological Project)

4. HURRICANE IDA: The Category 4 storms -- bringing heavy rain and wind – hit Gulf Islands National Seashore in late August, and its impact left quite a surprise: Days later and over a period of three weeks, park staff discovered 194 Civil War-era cannonballs, deposited in a couple clusters along a Florida beach. -- Read more

3. COCKSPUR LIGHTHOUSE: Fort Pulaski National Monument near Savannah, Ga completed a project aimed at protecting the small but resilient lighthouse. The 46-foot structure has endured high tides, hurricanes, waves from ever-growing container ships, vandals and – for a deafening 30 hours – the April 1862 bombardment of Fort Pulaski during the Civil War. -- Read more

2. HUNLEY’S SHARP-DRESSED SKIPPER: He was dressed more for a night on the town than for a moonlit submarine journey toward Union vessels blocking Charleston Harbor. Lt. George Dixon was decked out in a three-piece outfit, mid-calf suede boots and silver suspender buckles bearing his initials. Conservators have been analyzing the incredible array of artifacts found inside the submarine since it was raised two decades ago and are now working on a volume about the doomed crew, including personal effects such as clothing, buttons and shoes. -- Read more 

1. CONFEDERATE “CRIBS”: Archaeologists using sonar to scan the bottom of the Savannah River located the remnants of four underwater obstructions placed by Confederate defenders during the Civil War. Dubbed cribs, the wooden structures held bricks and other debris meant to thwart ships. -- Read more

Sonar image of four Confederate cribs in Savannah River (USACE, Savannah)

Happy birthday! Picket turns 2

Two years ago today, barely understanding the technology, I posted my first Civil War Picket blog item -- on the re-enactment of the Battle of Atlanta.

It's been a great adventure since. I've made a few trips, taken some photographs and have had the opportunity to talk with a bunch of interesting folks.

I'd like to thank each of you for your interest, time and support. The Picket would love to get your feedback from time to time, so please go to our Facebook page or drop a comment on the postings themselves.

Just for fun, I thought I'd list some of my favorite items over the past 12 months. Click on each to read the story:

PEOPLE
• Son of Confederate veteran recalls stories he heard
• Artist Alfred Waud | Living historian portrays him
• The bumbling, likeable Ambrose Burnside

NEWS
• Descendant returns Confederate unit's flag to fort
• Neighborhoods to restore monuments to generals
• African-American attitudes on Civil War | • Part 1
• Recounting the dead in North Carolina
• No farbs here: Authentic Campaigner website
• Fascinating French flag ruse
• From slaves to warriors in blue

EVENTS
• Firing guns at Fort Sumter during re-enactment
• Charleston lectures mark 150th anniversary
• Young German re-enacts on first U.S. visit

BATTLEFIELDS/VENUES
• The Atlanta battle you'd never heard about
• Road trip! Jeff Davis, Blue & Gray museums
• Fixing up cemetery next to Confederate hospital site
• River city sent soldiers, guns and steel
• Touch the map and zoom in on Battle of Atlanta