President Joe Biden on Wednesday awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry to two Union soldiers who stole a locomotive deep in Confederate territory during the Civil War and drove it north for 87 miles (140 kilometers) as they destroyed railroad tracks and telegraph lines.
Tbf they were his childhood friends
I would make the same joke about trump, but we all know he didn’t have any childhood friends.
And we also know that none of his acquaintances fought for the union.
And that’s more of a fact than a joke… I read too much is never enough. He was a very delusional child and so much of that was the fault of his father. Not that that is any excuse for him as an adult to do the shit he does. It just explains it
I agree, this is important to emphasise. I don’t want to ever slip into the mindset of dehumanising Trump in the same way that him and his allies dehumanise people like me, because I think that drive to so thoroughly otherize political opponents is a key driver of fascistic thinking. Having empathy for people like Trump (and those that follow him) doesn’t excuse their actions or beliefs, but I think it’s important
I pity them all, including all the poor conservatives that’ve fallen for the rhetoric, though of course I still want them imprisoned for their crimes. There need to be systemic changes in education and mental health support to prevent the possibility of continued fascism, but the system is broadly self-reinforcing.
Trump’s friends got pretty mad that they messed up their train
This is a pretty amazing story. Dope pick actually.
For those that would like the story told with a little stylized flair:
https://nebula.tv/videos/extrahistory-civil-war-train-heist-the-first-medals-of-honor-us-history/
Is this also the plot of Buster Keaton’s The General?
According to the video link above, yes
This is a great historical story. The raid was conceived by a civilian who wanted to steal a train behind confederate lines and then ride it while destroying the tracks behind in order to disrupt confederate logistics. The raid turned into a chase as the conductor of the stolen train chased the raiders on a series of handcarts and trains, while the raiders attempted to disrupt telegraph wires and tracks. Eventually the raiders had to abandon their stolen train and were captured, with some escaping, some being executed, and some being held as POWs. I actually made a post about the man who conceived of the raid a while back in the American Civil War community here.
The other soldiers (except for one who still doesn’t have an MOH) in the raid were awarded the newly created MOH during the war. These two soldiers were retroactively awarded the MOH by Congress in 2008, so I am not sure why it took so long for the award to be presented.
I need a movie!
There’s also Buster Keaton’s The General (1926). They switched it up though and had the confederates doing the raiding and the union doing the chasing.
Grand Theft Loco: Civil War
All you had to do was follow the damn train!
Cool cool, but don’t we have more important things to do right now, like preserving democracy?
Oh my sweet summer child…
that’s on you dummy! you go out there and vote. i am busy dealing with matters from my younger days 700 years ago.
Oh, that’s already gone. Preserving the duopoly is all you have.
We saw a last vestiges of that 30 years ago
The story leaves out they were school mates
What is the point of this? Who is he scoring points with? They must have made a couple extra medals by accident.
Almost all of the soldiers in the Andrews raid were awarded Medals Of Honor in the 1860s. Shadrack and Wilson were captured and executed by the Confederacy, and didn’t get medals. This long post humous award is in line with what they seemingly should have earned by being part of the raid. (The medals were authorized for both of them in 2008, so the extended delay in actually presenting them is something to look into.)
Shouldve given them a gold plated dung pile
These were union soldiers who stole a confederate train.
OIC. Well in that case praise them to the highest mountain top
Fighting against slavers is something that should be celebrated. It’s like punching a Nazi, there’s just no situation where it isn’t the right thing to do.
You might want to put an edit in your original comment clarifying your stance.
Thought about it, but no real need since its pretty plainly wrong
Why?
one day we will have the time for the people in the here and now
Maybe they were also the ones who stole his trains of thought.
Swing and a miss
