In addition, the Army extended eligibility for the Medal of Honor to officers as well as enlisted personnel. On March 3, 1863, both services made the decoration permanent.
Andrews. Six raiders received the Medal of Honor on March 25, 1863. The other thirteen received the medal later Andrews, a civilian, did not qualify for it. The first recipients of the Medal of Honor were the men known collectively as Andrews’ Raiders, who led a daring military mission behind Confederate lines to steal a train, escape north in order to destroy rail lines supplying the Confederate Army. The twenty-two soldiers and one civilian who participated in the ‘Great Locomotive Chase’ were led by civilian James J. Like the Navy medals, these were to be “presented, in the name of the Congress” to enlisted personnel who “distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldier-like qualities” during the Civil War. By this time, eighty-eight soldiers had already performed actions for which they eventually received the Medal of Honor. During the Civil War, there was no time limit between the action and award so many recipients gained Medals of Honor in the years after the war ended.
Courtesy of Gettysburg National Military Park.ĭuring the waning days of December 1861, President Abraham Lincoln signed a Congressionally-approved bill (Public Resolution 82) creating 200 “medals of honor,” specifically for enlisted Navy personnel. In July 1862, President Lincoln authorized 2,000 Army medals.
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