Elihu H. Mason, born March 23, 1831, was a resident of Pemberville, Ohio, enlisted in the 21st Ohio Infantry, and became one of the first six Medal of Honor recipients. During the Civil War he took part in Andrews Raid, which began on April 12, 1862, when 18 Union soldiers crossed into enemy territory. In Big Shanty, now Kennesaw, Georgia, the raiders captured the locomotive The General and two box cars, then headed north for 100 miles, tearing up tracks and cutting telegraph lines to disrupt Confederate supply lines. Another engine, The Texas, began chasing them, and about 18 miles out of Chattanooga The General lost steam; the raiders fled but were later captured. Mason was among the prisoners who were later released, and for his actions he received the nation's highest military award from President Lincoln. He later fought at the Battle of Chickamauga and was captured again. After returning home from the war, he became a member of Pemberville's town council in 1894, and after being very ill with stomach cancer for a few months, he died in 1896.