Medal of Honor Recipient. He received the Medal of Honor shortly before his retirement from the military on January 24, 1894, for an action that happened over thirty years earlier in 1861. During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislature creating the Medal of Honor on July 12, 1862. After backdating his award thirty years, he is the first to receive the Medal of Honor. Although he is credited, according to his military marker, with earning his medal during the American Civil War time period, he was stationed in the West during the Apache War, which started in 1849. The American Civil War did not start until April of 1861. He earned the Medal of Honor for his actions on February 13-14, 1861, at Apache Pass in Arizona. His citation reads: "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege." Before joining the military, he attended New York University from 1848 to 1849 and started in 1850 at Castleton Medical College, but later transferred to New York Medical College, graduating in 1852. After serving in the New York Militia, he became an assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army and eventually deployed to the West.
He was the founding member of The Order of the Indian Wars of the United States, a military society founded in 1896 for officers of the United States Army who served in campaigns against Native Americans from the American Revolution to the late 19th century. It is now open to male descendants of Army officers of the Indian Wars.
Medal of Honor Recipient. He received the Medal of Honor shortly before his retirement from the military on January 24, 1894, for an action that happened over thirty years earlier in 1861. During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislature creating the Medal of Honor on July 12, 1862. After backdating his award thirty years, he is the first to receive the Medal of Honor. Although he is credited, according to his military marker, with earning his medal during the American Civil War time period, he was stationed in the West during the Apache War, which started in 1849. The American Civil War did not start until April of 1861. He earned the Medal of Honor for his actions on February 13-14, 1861, at Apache Pass in Arizona. His citation reads: "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege." Before joining the military, he attended New York University from 1848 to 1849 and started in 1850 at Castleton Medical College, but later transferred to New York Medical College, graduating in 1852. After serving in the New York Militia, he became an assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army and eventually deployed to the West.
He was the founding member of The Order of the Indian Wars of the United States, a military society founded in 1896 for officers of the United States Army who served in campaigns against Native Americans from the American Revolution to the late 19th century. It is now open to male descendants of Army officers of the Indian Wars.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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MEDAL OF HONOR
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