WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Obama is reportedly furious with both the White House staff and the Pentagon after a paperwork error led him to accidentally award the Medal of Honor to a deceased Confederate general.
The award, originally intended for Union artillery officer 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing, was instead bestowed on George Pickett, a general in the Confederate Army who fought opposite Cushing at Gettysburg and commanded the charge which Cushing lost his life trying to repel.
The error was not discovered until shortly after the ceremony began, when several descendants of Pickett arrived to receive the medal. Flying a large Confederate flag, and just as confused as President Obama, they reluctantly accepted it, "On behalf of a grateful Confederacy."
