Soldier Parrott: The Incredible Story of America's First Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient

by J. North Conway

Overview

Soldier Parrot brings a new level of research and personal grit to Civil War history with this riveting account of how Jacob Parrott, an 18-year-old, illiterate orphan from Ohio became the first soldier to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Parrott, a private in the Union Army, volunteered in 1862 for a secret mission behind Confederate lines to steal a train, tear up railroad tracks, burn bridges, and cut telegraph lines. The mission failed. Parrott and his companions were captured. Several were hung as spies and Parrott spent nearly two years in a Confederate prison. Parrott was only eighteen-years old when he volunteered for the secret mission. He had never been farther than ten miles from his home in Fairfield County. Soldier Parrott is literally the stuff of history—a fast-paced, extremely well-told tale of espionage, capture, trial, and escape. Half the team was executed; the half that escaped received the newly established Medal of Honor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493044320
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2021
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	288,818
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Author J. North Conway has created a highly personal story of how Parrott felt and thought about his mission with information gleaned from contemporary newspaper article and commentary, journal entries and Congressional hearing reports. He lives in Assonet, MA.

Table of Contents

Introduction: As You Were ix

Part 1 Slogging to Glory 1

Part 2 Pursuit 63

Part 3 A Jolly Crew in a Bad Boat 113

Part 4 Honor and Glory 191

Acknowledgments 225

Appendix 227

Further Reading and Sources 231

Index 235

About the Author 249