William James Knight(1837-1916)
William James Knight, the Union engineer on the famous Confederate General Locomotive in the Civil War, and received the first Congressional Medal of Honor from President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 along with some 12 or so other Union soldiers in two different occasions.
This dramatic historical story is depicted in the films The General, The Great Locomotive Chase, and The Andrews' Raiders. Several Confederate trains were in pursuit - chasing down the high-jacked General which was doing some 75 MPH under Engineer Knight - when it was only safe (read licensed) to go around 25 MPH maximum.
This dramatic historical story is depicted in the films The General, The Great Locomotive Chase, and The Andrews' Raiders. Several Confederate trains were in pursuit - chasing down the high-jacked General which was doing some 75 MPH under Engineer Knight - when it was only safe (read licensed) to go around 25 MPH maximum.