Red James Cash
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- Aug 20, 2009
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Fantastic find: Toledoan's Medal of Honor found in box
By ALEXANDRA MESTER | The Blade, Toledo, Ohio | Published: March 2, 2019
TOLEDO, Ohio (Tribune News Service) — A thrilling discovery inside a small, nondescript box left behind after an Orlando man's death has local history enthusiasts extremely excited.
The box, uncovered recently by a couple that purchased the man's home, contains a priceless piece of American military history with local importance – a Civil War-era Medal of Honor given to a Union soldier from Toledo.
"It's really incredible," Joe Dowd, co-president of the Greater Toledo Civil War Round Table and an avid Civil War history buff, said. "It's really important. This is one the earliest Congressional Medals of Honor that was ever given. It's incredibly rich, even for the history of the Medal of Honor."
Multiple attempts by The Blade to reach the couple that found the medal, Michael and Erin Kara, were unsuccessful. But they told Orlando's WKMG-TV Channel 6 in a story aired Monday they found it while clearing out personal belongings from the home they had purchased to flip.
"That's a very rare piece of history," said Nick Haupricht, a Marine veteran and chairman of Remembrance Inc., a group dedicated to building and refurbishing war memorials.
The back of the medal is engraved with the name Corporal Mark Wood and markings for Company C, 21st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. That soldier lived in Toledo and is buried in Forest Cemetery. His name is on several area military memorials, including the Military Memorial Pathway in Point Place erected by Remembrance Inc.
Mr. Haupricht has extensively researched Medal of Honor recipients with Lucas County ties. His research into Mark Wood extended overseas.
"He was from England. It took me five months of research to find him," Mr. Haupricht said. "I believe he was the first European to receive America's top award."
Mark Wood, who attained the rank of second lieutenant, was born in Nottingham, England before coming to northwest Ohio. Records gathered by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society show he enrolled as a private in the infantry on Aug. 29, 1861, at Perrysburg, mustered in Sept. 19, 1861, at Findlay, and was promoted to corporal in February, 1862.
In April, 1862, Lieutenant Wood, still a corporal at the time, was one of 22 Union soldiers and two civilians that undertook a military raid known as the Great Locomotive Chase or Andrews' Raid.
"Andrews' Raid was one of the North's first attempts at espionage," Mr. Dowd said. "The espionage aspect of the Union army really was fledgling during the war. [Andrews' Raid] didn't succeed, but the whole story about it is incredible."
The Union soldiers stole a Confederate train named the "General" and drove it north, attempting to destroy sections of track, railway communication lines, and related infrastructure between Atlanta, Ga., and Chattanooga, Tenn.
"Our records show that [Lieutenant Wood] was one of the raiders that actually helped capture the 'General' and was one of the ones who fled when it had to be abandoned," said Laura Jowdy, archivist and collections manager for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
The Union group was chased by Confederates on foot, and by handcar and train. The General ran out of fuel north of Ringgold, Ga., and had to be abandoned. All 24 men in the group were captured over the course of two weeks.
The lieutenant was caught near Bridgeport, Ala. after about 10 days, and held as a prisoner of war in Chattanooga and Atlanta.
"Wood was one of the eight raiders who escaped from the Atlanta jail in October, 1862," Ms. Jowdy said. "They succeeded in floating down the Chattahoochee River to the Gulf of Mexico where they were found by the blockade of Union ships. He was in various military hospitals until January, 1863, at which time he rejoined his unit."
He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1863 for his role in the raid. Ms. Jowdy said she could not confirm that the medal found in Orlando is authentic without having it evaluated in person, but its features as shown in the Orlando news coverage appear correct for the time.
Mr. Dowd said the medal is a tangible artifact from a fascinating and historic Civil War engagement and helps connect northwest Ohio to the national historical narrative.
"It's a reminder that this is a war that happened in our country," Mr. Dowd said. "This is a war that happened in our own backyards. We tend to kind of forget that, especially here in Ohio because there were no major battles or engagements here."
Lieutenant Wood was discharged from his unit on Feb. 9, 1864, at Graysville, Ga., and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on March 1, 1864, in Co. F, of the 21st Ohio Infantry. He was discharged Nov. 3, 1864, for disability, and died in Toledo of tuberculosis on July 11, 1866, at the age of 26.
"From what I can tell from our records here, he was never married," Ms. Jowdy said. "We have no record of a next of kin for him."
According to the Orlando news station, a nonprofit called Purple Hearts Reunited may have located the lieutenant's third-generation nephew and fourth-generation niece. The organization did not respond to The Blade's inquires.
But Kathy Tafel told the news station the medal is "something to be cherished." Both the couple that found the medal and the possible relatives want the artifact to be given to a museum, according to the news station.
Mr. Haupricht wants the medal to come home to Toledo where the lieutenant lived and is buried. He suggested the Toledo History Museum on North St. Clair Street downtown as an appropriate venue for display.
"It would be a perfect place," he said.
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By ALEXANDRA MESTER | The Blade, Toledo, Ohio | Published: March 2, 2019
TOLEDO, Ohio (Tribune News Service) — A thrilling discovery inside a small, nondescript box left behind after an Orlando man's death has local history enthusiasts extremely excited.
The box, uncovered recently by a couple that purchased the man's home, contains a priceless piece of American military history with local importance – a Civil War-era Medal of Honor given to a Union soldier from Toledo.
"It's really incredible," Joe Dowd, co-president of the Greater Toledo Civil War Round Table and an avid Civil War history buff, said. "It's really important. This is one the earliest Congressional Medals of Honor that was ever given. It's incredibly rich, even for the history of the Medal of Honor."
Multiple attempts by The Blade to reach the couple that found the medal, Michael and Erin Kara, were unsuccessful. But they told Orlando's WKMG-TV Channel 6 in a story aired Monday they found it while clearing out personal belongings from the home they had purchased to flip.
"That's a very rare piece of history," said Nick Haupricht, a Marine veteran and chairman of Remembrance Inc., a group dedicated to building and refurbishing war memorials.
The back of the medal is engraved with the name Corporal Mark Wood and markings for Company C, 21st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. That soldier lived in Toledo and is buried in Forest Cemetery. His name is on several area military memorials, including the Military Memorial Pathway in Point Place erected by Remembrance Inc.
Mr. Haupricht has extensively researched Medal of Honor recipients with Lucas County ties. His research into Mark Wood extended overseas.
"He was from England. It took me five months of research to find him," Mr. Haupricht said. "I believe he was the first European to receive America's top award."
Mark Wood, who attained the rank of second lieutenant, was born in Nottingham, England before coming to northwest Ohio. Records gathered by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society show he enrolled as a private in the infantry on Aug. 29, 1861, at Perrysburg, mustered in Sept. 19, 1861, at Findlay, and was promoted to corporal in February, 1862.
In April, 1862, Lieutenant Wood, still a corporal at the time, was one of 22 Union soldiers and two civilians that undertook a military raid known as the Great Locomotive Chase or Andrews' Raid.
"Andrews' Raid was one of the North's first attempts at espionage," Mr. Dowd said. "The espionage aspect of the Union army really was fledgling during the war. [Andrews' Raid] didn't succeed, but the whole story about it is incredible."
The Union soldiers stole a Confederate train named the "General" and drove it north, attempting to destroy sections of track, railway communication lines, and related infrastructure between Atlanta, Ga., and Chattanooga, Tenn.
"Our records show that [Lieutenant Wood] was one of the raiders that actually helped capture the 'General' and was one of the ones who fled when it had to be abandoned," said Laura Jowdy, archivist and collections manager for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
The Union group was chased by Confederates on foot, and by handcar and train. The General ran out of fuel north of Ringgold, Ga., and had to be abandoned. All 24 men in the group were captured over the course of two weeks.
The lieutenant was caught near Bridgeport, Ala. after about 10 days, and held as a prisoner of war in Chattanooga and Atlanta.
"Wood was one of the eight raiders who escaped from the Atlanta jail in October, 1862," Ms. Jowdy said. "They succeeded in floating down the Chattahoochee River to the Gulf of Mexico where they were found by the blockade of Union ships. He was in various military hospitals until January, 1863, at which time he rejoined his unit."
He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1863 for his role in the raid. Ms. Jowdy said she could not confirm that the medal found in Orlando is authentic without having it evaluated in person, but its features as shown in the Orlando news coverage appear correct for the time.
Mr. Dowd said the medal is a tangible artifact from a fascinating and historic Civil War engagement and helps connect northwest Ohio to the national historical narrative.
"It's a reminder that this is a war that happened in our country," Mr. Dowd said. "This is a war that happened in our own backyards. We tend to kind of forget that, especially here in Ohio because there were no major battles or engagements here."
Lieutenant Wood was discharged from his unit on Feb. 9, 1864, at Graysville, Ga., and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on March 1, 1864, in Co. F, of the 21st Ohio Infantry. He was discharged Nov. 3, 1864, for disability, and died in Toledo of tuberculosis on July 11, 1866, at the age of 26.
"From what I can tell from our records here, he was never married," Ms. Jowdy said. "We have no record of a next of kin for him."
According to the Orlando news station, a nonprofit called Purple Hearts Reunited may have located the lieutenant's third-generation nephew and fourth-generation niece. The organization did not respond to The Blade's inquires.
But Kathy Tafel told the news station the medal is "something to be cherished." Both the couple that found the medal and the possible relatives want the artifact to be given to a museum, according to the news station.
Mr. Haupricht wants the medal to come home to Toledo where the lieutenant lived and is buried. He suggested the Toledo History Museum on North St. Clair Street downtown as an appropriate venue for display.
"It would be a perfect place," he said.
___
