Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-10

Scott Charles G.. Gould. B
by the President that a ribbon should be
worn with the medal of honor, and knot
could be worn in lieu of the medal, to be
each of pattern as follows The ribbon
to be of silk, one inch wide and 'one inch
IN length; the center stripe of white one
sixteenth of an inch wide flanked either
side by stripe of blue seven thirty seconds
of an inch wide, bordered by two stripes of
red each one-quarter of an inch wide. The
knot to be bowknot of the same combina-
ton of colors as the ribbon previously de-
scrbed
Stories of Adventure
The heroic exploits of these wearers of the
Medal of Honor have furnished material
for many story of adventure. Some of the
acts for which the honorable decoration of
the United States has been awarded were
performed in the heat of battle, while shot
and shell We're raining with deadly fury
| upon the rapidly diminishing ranks. Some
of the wearers of the little knot received
1t a reward for rallying and leading a
forlorn hope into the teeth of the enemy.
which resulted in turning the tide of battle
in favor of the defenders of the Union;
others rescued wounded comrades and of
fcers from the field under peril of a per-
feet hail of bullets while still others bore
up the standard of the army and saved it
from capture by the enemy, an achievement
that affects the pride of a regiment perhaps
as none other. can
Some of the deeds which have been ad-
judged worthy of distinguished recognition
were planned and executed, not under the
excitement of a thrilling affray but as a
result of cool and courageous calculation.
Fiction contains no more stirring exam
pies of daring and bravery than is found
in the bare recital of actual deeds per-
formed by the soldiers of the civil war who
have been awarded the medal of their ma
ton.
In this city there are number of the
WeareTS of the Medal of Honor, and from
their lips many of the succeeding stories
have been related to a reporter for The
Star. In all the cases the local medal win
ners told the stories of their own achieve
ments with the reticence and modesty of
brave men and valiant. They We're proud
to wear the symbol of their country's hon
orable recognition, proud to have proven
their Valor in trying and dangerous situa-
tions. yet they spoke in no boasting tones
of their exhibition of courage.
First Issue of Medals.
The first medals issued were March o.
1863, and it is claimed that Jacob PARROT, a
private in Company X, a5d Ohio Infantry,
was the first to actually receive the honor
able decoration of this government. 1t is
stated by witnesses to the presentation that
there were five medal winners present when
Mr.. Parrot received his badge, and that
the other four We're given their decorate
at the same time. The story goes that Sec
rotary of War Stanton presented the badges
and that Parrot was first in line from
which circumstance he was the first to re-
ceiVe the award.
The service for which these five medals
were issued is one of the most thrilling of
the civil war, and it is designated in the
records of the War Department as special
service under General Mitchell" 1t is
Familiarity known as 'Mitchell's raid"
Parrot was one of twenty-five men 0n-
Guiding two civilians) who, by direction of
the general mentioned penetrated nearly
300 miles south into the enemyS territory
and captured railroad train at Big Shanty
Ga, in an attempt to destroy the bridges
and tracks between Chattanooga and At
lanta.
The other soldiers composing the parry
who were awarded medals were as follows
John NJ. Scott, sergeant, Company F, 2lst
Ohio Infantry: Daniel A. Dorsey. corporal.
Company H, SD Ohio Infantry; E. H. Ma
son, sergeant, Company K, Dist Ohio In
fantry: William H. Reddick, corporal, Com
pany b, 33d Ohio Infantry: Robert Buffam
private Company H. Dist Ohio Infantry;
Martin ]. Hawkins, corporal. Company A,
sd OHIO Infantry: William Bensinger pri-
, vate, Company G, Dist Ohio Infantry; Will
son Brown, private Company F, Dist Ohio
Infantry; Samuel Robertson private. Com
pany g. S3d Ohio Infantry; William Knight.
| private, Company E, 21st Ohio Infantry
Samuel Savens private, Company E. sd
OHIO Infantry: John r. Porter private
Company G, 21st Ohio Infantry: John VOL
lam, private, Company c, 33d Ohio Infan-
| try: Mark Wood. private. Company c, DIST
| Ohio Infantry; Marion A. Ross, sergeant
major, I'd Ohio Infantry; John A. Wilson
private, Company c, 21st Ohio Infantry:
pany g. I'd Ohio Infantry: James Smith,
sergeant major, Company l, I'd Ohio In
fantry-
Won in Dangerous Service.
Early in April, 1862, twenty-four men
from three Ohio regiments, then In TaG-
nessee. were detailed for a secret and dam
gerous service. They were ordered to
ciothe themselves In the costume Of farmers
in the neighborhood and to leave behind all
weapons except reviewers The members
of the party met by appointment the even
ing of April Z, near Shelbyyille, where they
were joined by James J. Andrews, who had
acted as a spy for Gen. Buell., and who
some time previous to this led an unsuc-
cessful expedition to destroy communica-
ton between Chattanooga and Atlanta
With Andrews was a kentuckian, William
Campbell who had volunteered to share
his danger.
The party was divided into detachments
| Of three or four, with instructions to go to
Marietta, Ga, distance of 200 miles, as
expeditiously as possible, arriving at the
place not later than April IL. At that
point they were to capture a locomotive
and travel along the line Of road, destroying
bridges and tracks, In order that Gen
Beauregard's source of supplies would be
| cut off to a great extent.
No arrangements had been made for
| transportation, and each man was required
to reach the objective point as best ne
| could. The tramp along muddy roads,
| through dangerous swamps and across
swollen streams was no small part of the
undertaking, and only twenty OF the orig
! inal party reached Marietta at the time set
i Two were captured by the enemy and two
| others were missing.
Seize the Opportunity.
Saturday morning, October r. dawnad
gray and forbidding at Marietta; rain was
falling copiously, but the twenty patriots
| were dauntless. They boarded train OF
cars loaded with rebel troops and ammuni-
| ton at that point-in the heart of the
enemy's country-and rode as passengers
/ to Big Shanty NOW Kenesaw station), hay-
| ing bought tickets to different stations
| along the line in order to disarm suspicion.