President Joe Biden to award Medal of Honor to two Civil War soldiers for Great Locomotive Chase

July 3 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden on Wednesday posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to two Union soldiers who took part in a successful operation against the Confederacy behind enemy lines during the Civil War.

The honors for Union Pvt. Philip G. Shadrach and Pvt. George D. Wilson recognized their actions in what is now known by historians as the Great Locomotive Chase, in which they are credited with infiltrating the Confederacy, hijacking a train and driving it 87 miles north, destroying railroad tracks and cutting telegraph wires along the way while hampering the South's war effort.

Recognition for Shadrach and Wilson has languished for years despite the passage of a House bill in 2008 honoring them. It remains unclear while why there wasn't any action until Wednesday, but Biden acknowledged the delay at the White House ceremony, saying has "been a long time in coming" as descendants of both soldiers looked on.

Shadrach and Wilson were a part of a group of 24 Union soldiers dubbed Andrews' Raiders who caused the mayhem from Georgia to Tennessee with the Confederate military trying to track them down -- all but those two have been awarded Medals of Honor for their deeds over the years.

"The risk of this mission was enormous -- if caught, they would certainly be killed," Biden said. "Philip, George, all the men, were given a chance to walk away, but not one of them did. Not one of them walked away."

Historians said the group's bravery and ingenuity were highlighted by the fact that some had no experience in rail operation. It also rained at the start of the mission, which made it difficult for them to destroy rail tracks and burn bridges.

The men were eventually forced to abandon the train short of Chattanooga when they ran low on wood to run the locomotive and scattered. Shadrach and Wilson were caught by Confederate forces and executed, with Shadrach declaring before his hanging that he harbored no ill will toward the people of the South, only the rebellion's leaders, and predicting the American flag would one day again fly over the whole of the country.

"Ladies and gentlemen, until the very end, George and Philip believed in the United States of America -- the only nation in the world that was founded on an idea ... the idea that all men are created equal," Biden declared. "We haven't always lived up to that, but like George and Philip, we haven't walked away from it, either."

Following his remarks, Theresa Chandler, Wilson's great-great granddaughter, and Gerald Taylor, great-great nephew of Shadrach, accepted the honors on their behalfs.

Shane Makowicki, a historian with the U.S. Army Center of Military History, told The Washington Post the awarding of the Medal of Honor "speaks to the courage and heroism of these men that they volunteered for this.

"Today, if we were going to send people to do this, you have months or weeks of specialized training," he added.