An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Jan. 5, 2017

Medal of Honor history: Ohioan who belonged to Guard predecessor was first recipient

By Katie Lange DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Pvt. Jacob Parrott, a member of the Ohio Volunteer Militia – the predecessor to the Ohio National Guard – has the distinction of being the first person to receive the Medal of Honor, on March 25, 1863.

Parrott is featured online in a new history of the Medal of Honor, posted by the Defense Department.

Congress authorized the Medal of Honor in December 1861, specifically for the Department of the Navy, but within two months it was adapted for Army recipients as well.

The medal is now bestowed on individuals serving in any branch of the armed forces who have performed a personal act of valor above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy force. There are currently three variations of the medal.

Since January is the first month of the year, DoD said, it's going to highlight some of the "firsts" this month. So it's fitting to start with the very first recipient to ever receive the medal: Parrott.

Parrott was born on July 17, 1843, in Fairfield County, Ohio. He enlisted in the Army as part of Company K, 33rd Ohio Voluntary Infantry, during the Civil War.

In April 1862, Parrot and nearly 24 other volunteers were given orders to go deep into enemy territory and destroy bridges and railroad tracks between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Atlanta. Once they reached the Atlanta area, the Union soldiers hopped on a train heading north.

When the train stopped at Big Shanty, Georgia, the passengers and crew got off for breakfast, but the raiders stayed on and began their covert mission by uncoupling the engine, fuel car and three boxcars and steaming out of the station.

The raiders gained a little bit of distance and were able to damage a few bridges, but it wasn't long before Confederate soldiers got a hold of another train and were hot on their trail. The Union Soldiers uncoupled more of the stolen cars to slow their pursuers, but the move was to little effect.

Eventually, the train ran out of fuel near the Georgia-Tennessee border, and all of the Union Soldiers tried to get away on foot. They were all captured, including Parrott.

Parrott was eventually returned to the Union in a prisoner exchange in March 1863. For his part in the raid, he was awarded the very first Medal of Honor that same month, with five of his comrades receiving the same distinction shortly thereafter.

In the more than 150 years since then, 3,498 service members of all different backgrounds and branches have earned the medal, including 88 African-Americans, 59 Hispanic-Americans, 33 Asian-Americans and 32 Native Americans. Only one woman has received the distinction, while nine unknown Soldiers have earned it. Just 19 people have achieved the rare distinction of earning it twice.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...