KENNESAW, GA – When John Morehead Scott of Findlay, Ohio was conscripted into the 21st Ohio Infantry in 1861, he quickly married his sweetheart, Rachel, and headed South.
On April 12, 1862, Sgt. Scott boarded the locomotive, the General, and when it stopped in what is now Kennesaw, Georgia, he and 19 others stole the locomotive while passengers and crew were eating breakfast at a nearby hotel.
These raiders, led by James Andrews, were later awarded the country’s first Medals of Honor for their daring attempt to cut the Confederate supply lines. The several raiders who were captured near Ringgold, Georgia and later hanged, including Scott, were awarded the medals posthumously.
Descendants of Sgt. Scott’s widow, Rachel Scott Waggoner, have graciously loaned his Medal of Honor to Kennesaw’s Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate, for a period of 10 years.
“We’re thrilled to have this piece of the Great Locomotive Chase history at the Museum,” said Museum Curator George Deeming. To honor the family’s contribution, the Museum plans to build a lifelike mannequin of Scott for display in its “Raiders Gallery.” Photos of the other Raiders will also be displayed in the gallery.
Attorney Glenn Waggoner, of Pepple and Waggoner in Cleveland, loaned the medal on behalf of his family. “George Deeming found my law firm’s Web site and emailed me about the medal,” he explained. “The artifact had been stored in the attic of a farm house for years. After emailing back and forth with George, and hearing about the great things the Museum was doing, my family and I thought it was a logical place for the medal.”
Waggoner said the story of the Great Locomotive Chase was important to his family, and his father had seen the General in both Chattanooga and Kennesaw. Waggoner himself rode the General in the early ‘60s from Canton to Findlay, Ohio, home to about half a dozen of the Raiders.
The Southern Museum, located just yards from where the General was stolen, chronicles the Great Locomotive Chase of the Civil War through reproductions, film, and exhibits, including the General, and now, the Scott Medal of Honor.
Deeming played a significant role in acquiring the medal, and is hoping to identify the descendants of other participants in the Chase, both Union and Confederate.
“We’re planning to invite all the descendants to join in some of our grand opening festivities,” he said. “We hope to begin a regular reunion of Chase descendants every few years.”
In addition to The Great Locomotive Chase Collection, the Museum features two other permanent collections. Railroads: Lifelines of the Civil War depicts the important role railroads played during the conflict and details the war time life of soldiers and citizens with an unmatched collection of rare Confederate uniforms, weapons, musical instruments, and more. Glover Machine Works: Casting a New South illustrates life in a turn-of-the-century locomotive factory using reproductions, film, locomotives, machine patterns, and archives.
A member of the prestigious Smithsonian Affiliations program, the Museum will also feature revolving exhibits from Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and display Smithsonian artifacts in its exhibits. A lecture series spotlighting historians from the Smithsonian Institution is planned as well. The Museum also plans to host other traveling exhibits.
The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, formerly the Kennesaw Civil War Museum, is currently undergoing a massive expansion. The new building, which will be ten times the size of the old facility, will have a grand opening celebration March 30, 2003.
The Southern Museum is 20 miles North of Atlanta, off I-75 at exit 273, Wade Green Road. Visit www.southerrnmuseum.org or call (770) 427-2117 for more information.