STEUBENVILLE — More than 160 years after being hung as Union spies, a Belmont County resident and another soldier from Jefferson County are being awarded Medals of Honor for their roles in the ill-fated Great Locomotive Chase.

A medals ceremony today at the White House will recognize the heroism of Pvt. George D. Wilson, Co. B, 2nd Ohio Infantry Regiment and Pvt. Phillip G. Shadrach of Company K, 2nd Ohio Infantry Regiment.

Shadrach, a Pennsylvania native who found his way to Jefferson County after losing his parents at an early age, was mustered in at Michell Salt Fork near Toronto in 1861. He and Wilson were part of the infamous Andrews Raiders — two civilians and a daring group of infantrymen who in April 1862 donned civilian clothes and stole a Confederate locomotive near what is now Kennesaw, Ga. They fled northward toward Chattanooga, planning to tear up railroad tracks and destroy telegraph lines and bridges along the way to disrupt the Confederacy, but they ran out of fuel near Ringgold, Ga. They abandoned the locomotive, scattering into the countryside, but were soon captured by Confederate troops.

They were taken to Knoxville, where they were tried and convicted of “bridge-burning,” then taken to Atlanta, where seven of the raiders and their leader, civilian scout James Andrews, were hanged in June 1862.

Eight others escaped their Atlanta jail and, in March 1863, the remaining six Raiders were exchanged in a prisoner swap.

Those six who were exchanged as prisoners were the first Medal of Honor recipients in the nation’s history. In all, between 1863 and 1883, 19 of the Raiders were named Medal of Honor recipients. A medal also was offered to another soldier who declined to accept it because he’d been stopped by Confederates and never made it to Georgia for the raid.

In January 2008 President George W. Bush signed legislation clearing the path for Shadrach and Wilson to be honored posthumously but, until now, it was never carried out.

The ceremony will be held at the White House today.

Contacted Monday, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said the honor was long overdue.

“Privates Shadrach and Wilson heroically served our nation during the Civil War, making the ultimate sacrifice of their lives to protect the Union,” Brown said. “But, because of a clerical error, they never received the Medal of Honor they each deserved. It’s why we’ve been calling on the White House since 2015 to posthumously award Privates Shadrach and Wilson Medals of Honor to recognize their bravery, sacrifice, and dedication to our country.”

Born in Pennsylvania, Shadrach had been orphaned at an early age and ended up in Jefferson County. He joined the Union army at Michell Salt Works near Knoxville in 1861 under the name “Charles P. Shadrach,” using the pseudonym out of respect for a deeply religious family that did not want him going to war. The name change confounded those responsible for verifying eligibility.

Likewise, Wilson, a Belmont County native, had been incorrectly recorded as “George P Wilson,” sources said.