March 25, 1863---The First Congressional Medals of Honor are awarded

MARCH 25, 1863:      

The Great Locomotive Chase was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia. Union Army troops commandeered a 4-4-0 locomotive, "The General," and took it northward toward Chattanooga, Tennessee, doing as much damage as possible to the vital Confederate Western and Atlantic Railroad (W&ARR) line as they could manage. They were pursued by Confederate forces on a succession of locomotives. The Confederates ultimately captured the raiders and executed some on the spot for espionage. Others were held as POWs until a prisoner exchange could be arranged. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton presented the surviving raiders with the first Congressional Medals of Honor on this day for their daring service to the Union. "The General" still survives as a famous museum piece at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia.