I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9386 

To posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to James 

J. Andrews and William H. Campbell in recognition of their extraordinary bravery and steadfast devotion to the Nation during the Civil 

War as the only civilian members of Andrews’ Raiders, who launched 

a daring military raid that became known as the ‘‘Great Locomotive 

Chase’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 20, 2024 

Mr. FLEISCHMANN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on 

House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to James J. Andrews and William H. Campbell 

in recognition of their extraordinary bravery and steadfast devotion to the Nation during the Civil War as 

the only civilian members of Andrews’ Raiders, who 

launched a daring military raid that became known as 

the ‘‘Great Locomotive Chase’’. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘James J. Andrews and 

3 William H. Campbell Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) James J. Andrews was born in Holiday’s 

7 Cove, Virginia (now Weirton, West Virginia), in 

8 1829. He eventually moved to Kentucky. During the 

9 Civil War, Andrews served as a civilian spy for the 

10 Union Army and was the leader and organizer of 

11 Andrews’ Raiders. 

12 (2) William Hunter Campbell, born in Carroll 

13 County, Ohio, on September 9, 1839, was a unique 

14 addition to the raid. In 1862, he was visiting friends 

15 with the 2d Ohio Infantry in Kentucky when he was 

16 unexpectedly recruited for a daring mission. 

17 (3) On March 25, 1862, James J. Andrews de18 veloped a plan to cut off the Western and Atlantic 

19 Rail Line supply line from Marietta, Georgia, to 

20 Chattanooga, Tennessee, to allow the Union Army to 

21 attack and occupy the city. Andrews presented the 

22 plan to General Buell and General O.M. Mitchell, 

23 commanding the Union Army in North Alabama. 

24 The plan was accepted, and Andrews gathered 22 

25 Union soldiers from 3 Ohio Regiments (2d Ohio In26 fantry, 21st Ohio Infantry, 33d Ohio Infantry). The 


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1 plan was to work from northern Alabama in small 

2 groups, dressed in civilian clothes, and reach Mari3 etta, Georgia, to gather and steal a train. They were 

4 to run the train toward Chattanooga, cut the tele5 graph lines, tear up railroad tracks, and, if possible, 

6 burn the bridges. This would cut off all troop move7 ment and supplies from getting to Chattanooga. The 

8 capture of Chattanooga early in the war would cut 

9 off essential supplies and food from getting up to 

10 Virginia and the Confederate Army there. 

11 (4) On April 12, 1862, 24 volunteers from the 

12 Union Army, led by civilian scout James J. An13 drews, commandeered a Confederate locomotive 

14 named the ‘‘General’’ outside of Big Shanty, Geor15 gia (now Kennesaw), and took it northward toward 

16 Chattanooga, Tennessee, doing as much damage as 

17 possible to the vital Western and Atlantic Railroad 

18 line as they went. Out of fuel, Andrews and his men 

19 abandoned the locomotive and scattered into the 

20 woods before being captured by Confederate troops. 

21 (5) All captured were put on trial and convicted 

22 for acts of ‘‘unlawful belligerency’’ or being unlawful 

23 combatants and spies. Shortly after that, Andrews 

24 and 7 of the Raiders were executed by hanging, with 

25 the remaining held as prisoners-of-war. Andrews’ 


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1 body was taken down from the scaffold and buried. 

2 On October 16, 1887, his remains were recovered 

3 and taken to their final resting place at Chattanooga 

4 National Cemetery. 

5 (6) William H. Campbell was hung with 6 of 

6 the military men on June 18, 1862. In April 1866, 

7 these men were relocated and interred in Chat8 tanooga National Cemetery. 

9 (7) On March 25, 1863, 6 members of An10 drews’ Raiders were awarded the first Medals of 

11 Honor in our Nation’s history. Ultimately, 21 of the 

12 24 members of Andrews’ Raiders would receive the 

13 Medal of Honor for their actions on that day. On 

14 July 3rd, 2024, President Biden awarded the most 

15 recent Medals of Honor to members of Andrews’ 

16 Raiders, stating ‘‘Their heroic deeds went 

17 unacknowledged for over a century, but time did not 

18 erase their valor’’. 

19 (8) Chattanooga, Tennessee, is recognized as 

20 the birthplace of the Medal of Honor. 

21 (9) In 1956, Walt Disney made a movie about 

22 Andrews’ Raiders’ exploits called ‘‘The Great Loco23 motive Chase’’, starring Fess Parker as Andrews. 

24 Buster Keaton’s 1927 feature-length comedy masVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Sep 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9386.IH H9386

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1 terpiece ‘‘The General’’ was loosely based on the in2 cident. 

3 (10) Today, the hijacked locomotive, ‘‘General’’, 

4 is on display at The Southern Museum in Kennesaw, 

5 Georgia. ‘‘Texas’’, the locomotive used to give chase, 

6 is on display at the Atlanta History Center in At7 lanta, Georgia. 

8 (11) The civilians of the Andrews’ Raiders, 

9 James J. Andrews and William Hunter Campbell, 

10 acted with extraordinary bravery and unwavering de11 votion to their Nation as they attempted to turn the 

12 tide of the Civil War. 

13 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

14 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

15 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem16 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

17 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a single 

18 gold medal of appropriate design collectively in commemo19 ration of James J. Andrews and William H. Campbell, in 

20 recognition of their extraordinary bravery and steadfast 

21 devotion to the Nation during the Civil War as the only 

22 civilian members of Andrews’ Raiders, who launched a 

23 daring military raid that became known as the ‘‘Great Lo24 comotive Chase’’. 


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1 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 

2 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

3 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec4 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

5 devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec6 retary. 

7 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 

9 gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 

10 shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 

11 it shall be available for display as appropriate and 

12 made available for research. 

13 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

14 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution shall 

15 make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 

16 available for— 

17 (A) display, particularly at the Charles H. 

18 Coolidge National Medal of Honor Museum; 

19 and 

20 (B) loan, as appropriate, so that the medal 

21 may be displayed elsewhere. 

22 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

23 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

24 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3, at 


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1 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

2 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 

3 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

4 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck under this 

5 Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 

6 31, United States Code. 

7 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

8 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

9 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

10 items. 

11 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

12 SALE. 

13 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

14 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

15 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec16 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

17 this Act. 

18 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

19 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

20 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

21 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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