Samuel Robertson

Samuel Robertson (May 1, 1843 – June 18, 1862) was a private in the United States Army who was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the American Civil War. Robertson was the first American soldier posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor; he was awarded the medal in September 1863 for actions performed behind Confederate lines near Big Shanty, Georgia, in April 1862.

Personal life Robertson was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, on May 1, 1843.

Military service Robertson enlisted in the Army on September 1, 1861 at Bourneville, Ohio and was mustered into the 33rd Ohio Infantry. On April 12, 1862, a group of 22 men including Robertson from the 2nd, 21st, and 33rd Ohio Infantry, who had penetrated more than 200 miles into Confederate territory, successfully raided a train in Big Shanty, Georgia. This action was later known interchangeably as the Mitchel Raid (after General Ormsby M. Mitchell), the Andrews' Raid, and the Great Locomotive Chase.

Robertson was eventually captured and sentenced to death by hanging, and was executed for espionage on June 18, 1862.