Jacob Parrott

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jacob Wilson Parrot (July 17, 1843 – December 22, 1908) was a soldier in the volunteer Union army during the American Civil War. He was the first recipient of the Medal of Honor, a new military award first presented by the United States Department of War to several soldiers for their participation in the Great Locomotive Chase.

Parrott was a native of Fairfield County, Ohio. He joined the U.S. Army in 1861 as a private in Company K, 33rd Ohio Infantry and first saw combat in the Battle of Ivy Hill. In April 1862, he volunteered to take part in a daring raid with 21 others (later known as "Andrews Raiders" because they operated under the command of James J. Andrews). After infiltrating Confederate lines and hijacking the locomotive "General," they were captured and imprisoned. Parrot and 14 others managed to escape, but only 6 of them reached friendly lines. He served with the Union Army for the rest of the war. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1863 after the Battle of Stones River and as a first lieutenant in 1864. After the war, he returned to Ohio and became a cabinet maker. Parrott died in Kenton, Ohio, where he is buried in Grove Cemetery.

Medal of Honor Citation

One of the 19 of 22 men (including 2 civilians) who, by direction of Gen. Mitchel (or Buell), penetrated nearly 200 miles south into enemy territory and captured a railroad train at Big Shanty, Ga., in an attempt to destroy the bridges and tracks between Chattanooga and Atlanta.