The PLUMSTEAD Family
Marion Ross and the Great Locomotive Chase (Another Version)
Sergeant Major
Marion Andrew Ross
October 9, 1832 - June 18, 1862
The First Posthumous Recipient Medal Of Honor
I am the Great, Great, Great Niece of Marion A Ross
This is his story.
Marion A Ross was born October 9, 1832, the son of Levi and Mary Ruffner Ross. He was one of nine children. Marion was born in a log house that stood near Honey Creek in Addison, Champaign County, Ohio.
Marion was 28 years old, and a student at Antioch College, when he answered President Lincoln's call for volunteers into the Army to fight in the Civil War. He was mustered in at Camp Dennison, Ohio, Company A. 2nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, August 20, 1861 with the Rank of Private, for a period of three years. On December 7th, 1861 he was appointed the Rank of Sergeant Major.
From February 28th to May 31, 1862, Sergeant Major Marion A Ross was listed as "absent on secret service" by General O M Mitchell. It was not known until much later the nature of his absence.
General Mitchell had called for volunteers for a "secret mission". Under the leadership of a civilian, James J Andrews, 24 men boarded a Western and Atlantic Railroad train at Marietta, Georgia. The train made a scheduled stop at Big Shanty, Georgia (later known as Kennesaw, Georgia). While the crew and most of the passengers went to breakfast, Andrews' men uncoupled the passenger cars and left the station with the locomotive the "General" and three box cars.
Due to the rainy weather and the pursuit by Confederate authorities, forcing the locomotive to run out of fuel after a 90 mile chase, the "Andrews' Raid" failed. The "Raiders" were captured. Andrews and seven of his men were tried by Court Martial, condemned and hanged. James J Andrews was hastily executed on June 7, 1862 and seven others, including Marion Ross, were executed on June 18, 1862.
The final resting place of these eight men, including James Andrews, is in the Chattanooga National Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They are side-by-side.
On September 17th, 1863, Sergeant Major Marion A Ross was the first to be issued, posthumously, the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery in the service of his Country.
It was not until 1986 that the Marion A Ross Memorial Foundation was formed.
On July 13, 1986 an Historical Marker was placed at the site of his birth in Addison (now Christiansburg), Ohio. A dedication ceremony unveiled this Historical Marker. The marker is located at the northeast corner of the original Ross family farm. Some of the buildings on the original farm still remain.
With special thanks to Debbie Sue King for permission to copy this page. To see her complete website click here.
Marion Ross Index