Keeping Medal of Honor legacy alive: Chickamauga ceremony marks start of commemorative trail

photo A dedication ceremony held Saturday at Lee and Gordon's Mills in Chickamauga, Ga. marked the inaugural start of the Medal of Honor Heritage Trail. The trail will eventually go through Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge.

CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. -- It all started here.

The nation's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, traces its roots back to the Civil War and specifically to the Chattanooga area -- a legacy that local veterans are fighting to keep alive today.

In 1863, the first medal was given to surviving members of Andrews' Raid, in which Union troops and civilian spy James Andrews rode a locomotive from Marietta, Ga., toward Chattanooga, setting fire to tracks and cutting telegraph wires along the way -- drama that was celebrated in the 1956 Disney film, "The Great Locomotive Chase." Confederate soldiers chased the 20 civilians and soldiers all the way to Ringgold, where they were captured. Eight of the Union men were tried, hanged and buried in Atlanta. Their bodies were later relocated to the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

In all, 33 Medals of Honor were given for Civil War action in the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga, along with 19 medals handed out for members of Andrews' Raid. Surgeon Mary Walker, who helped treat wounded soldiers in Chattanooga, remains the only woman to ever receive the award. Nearly 3,500 individuals have received the military honor, which is awarded by the president in the name of Congress. Among them, 1,522 were for action during the Civil War -- more than from any other war.

"This is something that started right here," said E. Raymond Evans, a local historian and author of a book on the subject.

Evans, military officials and veterans gathered at Lee and Gordon's Mills in Chickamauga on Saturday afternoon to mark the beginning of a Medal of Honor Heritage Trail, which will celebrate the area's medal recipients. The National Medal of Honor Museum planted a sign honoring three Civil War soldiers and plans to place future signs around Chickamauga, Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge to build a trail tracing the medal's local roots.

"There's not another one like this," said Jim Wade, executive director of the museum. "This is the only one."

The museum, currently housed at Northgate Mall, also has big plans for expansion. Wade says the all-volunteer museum is in the midst of a $2 million campaign to pay for its relocation to a bigger space downtown. Currently, many artifacts sit in storage because of the museum's space constraints. Wade says an expanded museum will help better preserve the legacy of medal recipients.

"These are real, true heroes," Wade said.

While the museum includes artifacts and medals from scores of veterans, Saturday's ceremony focused on three Civil War medal recipients.

Sgt. Alexander Reed, of the 2nd Minnesota Infantry, was actually under arrest during battle for some infraction of duty. He escaped and joined his regiment, fighting for days, oftentimes leading the group into battle. He was taken to a hospital after being severely wounded on Missionary Ridge, where he passed out from loss of blood. He returned without a right arm three months later, but continued to fight.

Another member of the 2nd Minnesota, Capt. Clinton A. Cilley, received the medal for directing Union troops from Chickamauga to Rossville. While hundreds were wounded and more than 100 were killed on the second day of the Battle of Chickamauga, all from the 2nd Minnesota survived. Cilley had two horses shot underneath him that day, according to Evans' book, "Paths of Valor: The Medal of Honor in the Civil War and the Chattanooga Area."

"More gallantry and indomitable courage was never displayed upon the field of battle," Col. Van Derveer wrote about the battle that day. Bugler William Carson also received the Medal of Honor. Though a musician, he was still quick to take up a sword during battle. At Chickamauga on Sept. 19, 1863, the Union lines were wavering. On his own initiative, Carson, with a bugle in one hand and a sword in another, rallied the troops with calls of "halt," "rally" and "forward." Confederates, thinking reinforcements had arrived, retreated.

The Confederate States of America had its own version of a Medal of Honor. And since 1977, the Sons of Confederate Veterans has bestowed 50 of its Confederate Medals of Honor for bravery during battle, according to the Associated Press.

After establishment of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Carson returned to play his bugle at the dedication of the monuments.

"As a bugler, William Carson was an integral part of the command and control of his unit," said Mike Horn, of the 15th Infantry Association, a group dedicated to preserving the history of the regiment, which still exists today. "He was as important then as radios, computers, and GPS are today to our modern Army."

Contact staff writer Kevin Hardy at khardy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.

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