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Notable people · Soldier · Medal Of Honor

Jacob Parrott

Parrott, a Union soldier born in Fairfield County, was one of Andrews' Raiders, who seized a locomotive in Georgia in April 1862. On March 25, 1863, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton presented him the first Medal of Honor. After the war he lived in Kenton as a cabinetmaker and quarry operator.

Jacob Parrott
http://civildiscourse-historyblog.com/blog/2016/8/15/the-great-locomotive-chase-part-i-the-plan, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born
1843-07-17
Died
1908-12-22
Known as
Soldier, Medal Of Honor
Organizations
Union Army

Life story

Jacob Wilson Parrott was born on July 17, 1843, in Fairfield County, Ohio, and enlisted in Company K of the 33rd Ohio Infantry. In April 1862 he volunteered for a daring mission: Andrews' Raiders slipped into Confederate territory and stole a locomotive called the General, hoping to wreck the rail line between Chattanooga and Atlanta. The raid failed and the men were captured.

Parrott was severely beaten during interrogation but stayed silent. After a prisoner exchange, he was presented the first Medal of Honor on March 25, 1863, in Washington, D.C. by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, along with other raiders.

After the war he returned to Ohio and worked in Kenton as a cabinet maker and stone quarry operator. He died on December 22, 1908, of a heart attack while walking home from the county courthouse.

Kenton remembers him with a museum and with Jacob Parrott Boulevard.

Timeline

  • 1843-07-17: Born (Fairfield County, OH) source
  • 1862-04: Takes part in Andrews' Raid and the capture of the locomotive General (Georgia) source
  • 1863-03-25: Receives the Medal of Honor from Secretary of War Edwin Stanton; he is named the first recipient (Washington, DC) source
  • 1908-12-22: Dies after a heart attack on the way home from the courthouse (Kenton, OH) source

What Jacob is known for

  • First recipient of the Medal of Honor
  • Member of Andrews' Raiders (April 1862)

Inventions and firsts

All Ohio inventions and firsts

Honors and things named for them

  • Medal of Honor
  • Jacob Parrott Boulevard, Kenton
  • A museum in Kenton

Ohio places

Where Jacob Parrott was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.

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