STATEHOUSE CALENDAR

First Medal of Honor Winners

10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Cannon Firing to follow at 11:45 a.m. on the West Plaza

This event is free and open to the public.

Ohio Statehouse commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 19 Ohio soldiers and two civilians who volunteered for the most daring raid in military history. For their courage, these Ohioans became the first recipients of the Medal of Honor. The program takes place 150 years to the day after the event took place during the Civil War.

The program will be Web streamed LIVE at www.ohiochannel.org.

*The program, and its viewing instructions, will be linked from the home page of www.ohiochannel.org by 10 a.m. on April 12**

The Andrews Raiders historic marker plaque and Medal of Honor belonging to former US Army soldier Ron Rosser for his actions during the Korean War will be on public view throughout the day in the South Light Court.

This program is presented in partnership with the Ohio National Guard.

About the Andrews Raiders

On April 12, 1862 during the Civil War, James J. Andrews, a civilian scout for the Union Army, led a band of 20 enlisted men and one other civilian from various Ohio regiments deep into Confederate territory. There were two other enlisted men who started with the group but who did not get into Georgia with the remainder. Their plan was to board a train headed north out of Atlanta for Chattanooga, capture the train and continue steaming north, stopping frequently to cut telegraph lines and burn bridges, thereby disrupting Confederate lines of communication and aiding the Union Army's drive on Chattanooga.

Unfortunately, the plan went awry, and all the men were captured. Eight, including their civilian leader, were executed in June, 1862, in Atlanta. Eight more escaped from jail in Atlanta in October of that year. Then on March 17, 1863, nearly a year after their adventure began, the remaining six Raiders were exchanged via City Point, Virginia. When they arrived in Washington on March 25, 1863, Secretary Stanton sent word that he would like to see them. He was particularly impressed by Jacob Parrott, at age 19, the youngest of the group. Parrott calmly recited the major details of the raid, then related the story of the brutal beatings he had suffered at the hands of his captors. After listening to their hair-raising tale, Stanton praised Parrott's devotion to duty, then turning to an aide, selected a black morocco leather case. "Congress has by recent law, ordered medals to be prepared on this model and your party shall have the first; they are the first that have been given to private soldiers in this War, " he said as he pinned the medal to the left breast of Parrott's uniform. The remaining five men were also presented medals as of March 25, 1863.

Eventually 19 of these men were awarded the Medal of Honor. The official citation for their award is: "Nineteen of twenty-two men (including two civilians) who, by direction of General Mitchell (or Buell), penetrated nearly 200 miles south into the enemy's territory and captured a railroad train at Big Shanty, Georgia, in an attempt to destroy the bridges and track between Chattanooga and Atlanta."

There have been few awards of the Medal of Honor that attracted so much attention over the years as those awarded to the Andrews Raiders.