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![8 1/4 x 11, imprinted form, filled out in ink.
Oct. 1st, 1903
To the United Daughters of the Confederacy: (it reads in part as follows):
...who is an Ex-Confederate Soldier...hereby, at your request, presents this Certificate of Eligibility for a Confederate Cross of Honor. [He served] as a Private in Company C, of the 40th Regiment of N.C. Troops Volunteers, C.S.A....captured at Bentonville, prisoner at New Bern. He was honorably discharged from said service by Release on account Genl. Johnston surrendered on about the 1st day of May 1865, of which time he held the rank of private.
Respectfully,
G.W. Martin
The document has been signed by G.W. Martin, Harmon Cary, Macon Bonner and Alston Grimes.
Light age toning and edge wear. There are two punch holes at the top of the document from when it was once housed in a binder. This does not affect any of the content.
<b><u>George W. Martin</b></u>: He was 18 years old when he enlisted on October 21, 1861, in Beaufort County, North Carolina, as a private, and was mustered into Co. C, of the 3rd North Carolina Light Artillery, also known as the 40th North Carolina Troops. He also served from March 14, 1862, to February 3, 1863, in Co. F, of the 17th North Carolina Infantry, before he was transferred back to his original regiment.
<b><u>Macon Bonner</b></u>: He enlisted on September 15, 1861, and was commissioned 1st lieutenant in the 31st North Carolina Infantry. He later transferred to the 3rd North Carolina Light Artillery (40th N.C. Troops). In the fall of 1864, Bonner's company was sent to Augusta, Ga., and later Savannah, to meet the invasion of General William T. Sherman, with whose forces he was engaged in several skirmishes. After the evacuation of Savannah, he was with his command at Fort Holmes until the fall of Fort Fisher, when he was stationed at Fort Anderson, and participated in the fight with the enemy. At the evacuation of this fort he was captured, and confined at the Old Capitol Prison and Fort Delaware, until June 1865, when he took the oath of allegiance and was released. After the war he was appointed postmaster of Washington, N.C., by President Cleveland. [Source: Confederate Military History]](https://www.tias.com/stores/war/thumbs/ucv122a.jpg)
![3 pages, 5 x 8, in ink, written by John A. Yeckley. Fully identified with company and regiment.
<u>Camp near Darnstown, Maryland, Oct. 17 [1862]</u>
Dear brother,
It has been some time since I have written to you or heard from you & the reason why is that I did not know where to write for I heard that you had enlisted & that is the reason that I have not written oftener. I got a letter from mother yesterday & she is in want of some money. She says she is not allowed a cent this summer & that her feet is bare to the ground. It is impossible for me to do anything for her at present for I had the misfortune to lose my pocketbook with forty dollars just as I was agoing to send it home the next day. If you can help her a little at present I can send her twenty dollars in about a month when I get my next pay. I think you had better go & see her. If possible move her away for I don’t suppose that she is very well used [to] where she is & I think her & Nancy Jane might live together with very little more expense. You must write to me as soon as you can. Do anything to relieve her wants. If not let me know & I will try & get a furlough to come home & see to things. We are about twenty miles from Washington. We are in a very good section of country. The land is what the chestnut oak & prime land is in our state. We have plenty of spring water. The weather is pleasant & the nights warmer than they was in the summer. I have not had anything yet but a fly tent open at both ends, but I never enjoyed better health in my life than since I left Washington. We have plenty to eat and drink of everything that we want. We only drill about three hours per day, just enough to give us an appetite.
Direct your letters to John A. Yeckley, Co. E, 28th Regt. N.Y.S.V., Washington, D.C., care of Col. D. Donelley.
The big guns is firing towards Washington today & they was all day yesterday & they are fighting in the neighborhood of Chain Bridge, but we hear so many reports that we can’t believe anything we hear, but we have had orders to have two days rations in our haversacks & to have our knapsacks packed so as to be ready for a march.
Write as often as you can for a letter never comes amiss to a soldier.
Yours in haste,
John A. Yeckley
Bold and very neatly written. Excellent fully identified New York infantry soldier's letter..
John A. Leckley, was 24 years old when he enlisted in the Union army as a private, at Canadaigua, New York, on May 14, 1861, and was mustered into Company E, 28th New York Infantry, on May 22nd. He was mustered out of the service on June 2, 1863, at Albany, New York, when the regiment's term of service expired.](https://www.tias.com/stores/war/thumbs/ul2060a.jpg)
![3 1/2 pages, 5 1/8 x 6 1/2, in ink, written by John A. Yeckley.
<u>Winchester, Virginia, March 16th, 1862</u>
Friend Josephine,
I received your letter yesterday & I was glad to hear from you for it was so long since I heard from you that I thought you had forgotten me. The reason that I did not write before is because I heard that you was not at home & besides that I did not receive any answer to my last letter. We are once more in Virginia & we expected to have a fine time taking Winchester, but the Rebels all left the night before we got here & never gave us any show for a fight. We are having very pleasant times. There [is] about twenty of us in a tent & we play euchre pretty much all the time. We are encamped about half a mile from the city. It is a very pleasant place & the weather is delightful. There is skirmishing going on here every day with the enemy’s pickets. Our company is going out this afternoon & probably we may have a chance to see some of them. It is rather tough times here among the citizens. Salt is worth eight dollars per bushel, potatoes are worth four dollars, coffee is worth two dollars per pound, writing paper is selling for two cents per sheet, postage stamps are not to be had for love nor money. We have fresh pork, mutton & chickens nearly every meal. I should like to know if you have seen anything of Walt & if you have tell him that I should like to hear from him. I can’t say how long we shall stay here, but the probability is we shall remain here some time. Write as soon as you receive this & give me all the particulars. Tell me what kind of a time you had at that oyster supper at George Frey’s. I heard by the way that my uncle was waiting on you. I would like to know if it is so, but I must bid you good bye this time.
Yours truly,
John
You must excuse bad writing & all other mistakes for the boys are all raising hell & some one of them is running against me almost every word I write.
That letter with the one enclosed for Jim was not received. Jim says that he should like to hear from Alice very much.
Bold and very neatly written. Light age toning and wear. Newsy letter. Excellent content.
John A. Leckley, was 24 years old when he enlisted in the Union army as a private, at Canadaigua, New York, on May 14, 1861, and was mustered into Company E, 28th New York Infantry, on May 22nd. He was mustered out of the service on June 2, 1863, at Albany, New York, when the regiment's term of service expired.](https://www.tias.com/stores/war/thumbs/ul2059a.jpg)
![<b>Confederate Lieutenant General
Governor of Kentucky
T. Lilenthal, New Orleans, La. backmark</b>
(1823-1914) He was born at Glen Lily, his family's estate near Munfordville, Kentucky. His closest friend in Munfordville was Thomas J. Wood, who would become a Union Army general opposing Buckner at the Battles of Perryville, Ky., and at Chickamauga, Ga. during the Civil War. He graduated from West Point in the class of 1844, and later returned to the Military Academy to serve as an assistant professor of geography, history, and ethics. He was wounded and brevetted for gallantry in the Mexican War Battle of Churubusco, and was again cited for gallant conduct at the Battle of Molino del Rey, and was appointed a brevet captain. He fought in the Battle of Chapultepec, the Battle of Belen Gate, and the storming of Mexico City. At the conclusion of the war, American soldiers served as an army of occupation, and Buckner was accorded the honor of lowering the American flag over Mexico City for the last time during the occupation. Appointed adjutant general of Kentucky by Governor Beriah Magoffin in 1861, he tried to enforce Kentucky's neutrality policy in the early days of the Civil War, but when the state's neutrality was breached, Buckner accepted a commission in the Confederate Army. When his C.S.A. commission was approved, Union officials indicted him for treason, and seized his property. He was appointed a brigadier general on September 14, 1861, and saw action at Fort Donelson, Tenn. where he was forced to surrender the fort to his old friend and West Point classmate, General Ulysses S. Grant who demanded an "unconditional surrender." He was confined at Fort Warren prison in Boston for 5 months. After his release, he led a division in General Braxton Bragg's Kentucky campaign, and a corps at the battle of Chickamauga. He later received promotion to lieutenant general to rank from September 20, 1864. Near the end of the war he became chief of staff to General Edmund Kirby Smith in the Trans-Mississippi Department, and he later traveled to New Orleans, and arranged terms of surrender on May 26, 1865. The terms of Buckner's parole in Shreveport, Louisiana, on June 9, 1865, prevented his return to Kentucky for three years. He remained in New Orleans, worked on the staff of the Daily Crescent newspaper, engaged in a business venture, and served on the board of directors of a fire insurance company, of which he became president in 1867. Buckner returned to Kentucky when he was eligible in 1868, and became editor of the Louisville Courier newspaper. Like most former Confederate officers, he petitioned the United States Congress for the restoration of his civil rights as stipulated by the 14th Amendment. He recovered most of his property through lawsuits and regained much of his wealth through shrewd business deals. Buckner had a keen interest in politics and friends had been urging him to run for governor of Kentucky for years. Delegates to the 1887 state Democratic convention nominated Buckner unanimously for the office of governor, and he won the general election against his opponent William O. Bradley, and was appointed the 30th Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1887-1891. On a visit to the White House in 1904, Buckner asked President Theodore Roosevelt to appoint his only son as a cadet at West Point, and Roosevelt quickly agreed. His son Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. would later serve in the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant General, and was killed at the Battle of Okinawa, making him the highest-ranking American to have been killed by enemy fire during World War II. Buckner became the last surviving Confederate soldier with the rank of lieutenant general. He died on January 8, 1914, and was buried in Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Bust view in Confederate uniform. Buckner is wearing a pleated blouse with tie and his 3 star insignia is clearly visible embroidered on his collar. Backmark: T. Lilienthal, Photographic Establishment, 102 Poydras St., New Orleans, [La.] with vignette of their gallery. Light age toning. Rare and very desirable Confederate image!](https://www.tias.com/stores/war/thumbs/cdv9693a.jpg)
![<b>Wounded 3 times during the War Between the States
Commanded the "Laurel Brigade"
From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>
(1836-1910) Born on a farm called "Catalpa Hill," in Campbell County, Virginia. Appointed to West Point in 1856, at that time a 5 year course, his roommate was John Pelham. Rosser resigned on April 22, 1861, two weeks before he would have graduated. He was appointed a 1st lieutenant in the Regular Confederate army, and assigned as instructor to the Washington Artillery at New Orleans, La. He commanded a company of this regiment at the Battle of 1st Manassas, Va., in July 1861. After being severely wounded at Mechanicsville, Va., he was made colonel of the 5th Virginia Cavalry, at the request of General J.E.B. Stuart. He commanded the advance of Stuart's cavalry expedition to Catlett's Station, and was notable in the Second Battle of Manassas. During the fighting at Crampton's Gap, at the Battle of South Mountain, Md., his cavalry delayed the advance of General William B. Franklin's 6th Corps with help from Major John Pelham's artillery. At Sharpsburg, his men screened the left flank of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. He was seriously wounded at Kelly's Ford, Va., where his West Point roommate, "the gallant Pelham" was killed. Rosser was disabled until the Gettysburg Campaign, where he commanded his regiment in the fighting at Hanover, and the East Cavalry Field at Gettysburg. He continued to lead the 5th Virginia Cavalry with brilliant success until he was promoted brigadier general September 28, 1863. Rosser succeeded General Beverly Robertson in command of the "Laurel Brigade," and continued to win honors in the Overland Campaign of 1864 driving back a large force of Union cavalry and artillery at the Battle of the Wilderness. Rosser was again wounded at Trevilian Station, Va., where his brigade captured a number of prisoners from his former West Point classmate and close personal friend General George Armstrong Custer. His brigade later gallantly fought against General Philip H. Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, and he efficiently commanded General Fitzhugh Lee's division at Cedar Creek. A rare defeat occurred when General Custer overran Rosser's troops at the Battle of Tom's Brook, which allowed Custer to repay Rosser for Trevilian Station. For no tactical reason, Custer chased Rosser's troops for over 10 miles and the action became known as the great "Woodstock Races." Custer had also captured Rosser's private wardrobe wagon at Tom's Brook, and Rosser immediately messaged him:
Dear Fanny,
You may have made me take a few steps back today, but I will be even with you tomorrow. Please accept my good wishes and this little gift—a pair of your draws captured at Trevillian Station.
Tex
Custer shipped Rosser's gold-laced Confederate grey coat with this reply:
Dear friend,
Thanks for setting me up in so many new things, but would you please direct your tailor to make the coat tails of your next uniform a trifle shorter.
Best regards, G.A.C. [George Armstrong Custer].
General Rosser became known in the Southern press as the "Saviour of the Valley," and was promoted to major general in November 1864. He conducted a successful raid on New Creek, West Virginia, taking hundreds of prisoners and seizing much needed quantities of supplies. In January 1865, he took 300 men, crossed the mountains in deep snow and bitter cold, and surprised and captured two infantry regiments in their works at Beverly, West Virginia, takng almost 600 prisoners. Rosser commanded a cavalry division during the Siege of Petersburg in the spring of 1865, fighting near Five Forks, Va. It was here that Rosser hosted the "infamous" shad bake 2 miles north of the battle lines preceding and during the primary Federal assault. Guests at this small affair included Generals' George E. Pickett, and Fitzhugh Lee. It is said that Pickett only made it back to his division after over half his troops had been shot or captured, and Lee never forgave Pickett for his absence from his post when the Federals broke the Confederate lines and carried the day at Five Forks. Rosser was conspicuous during the Appomattox Campaign, capturing a Union general, John Irvin Gregg, and rescuing a wagon train near Farmville. He led a daring early morning charge at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, and escaped with his command as Lee surrendered the bulk of the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant. Under orders from the Secretary of War, he began reorganizing the scattered remnants of Lee's army in a vain attempt to join General Joseph E. Johnston's army in North Carolina. However, he surrendered at Staunton, Virginia, on May 4th and was paroled shortly afterwards. In 1886, he bought a plantation near Charlottesville, Va., and became a gentleman farmer. On June 10, 1898, President William McKinley appointed Rosser a brigadier general of United States volunteers during the Spanish–American War. His first task was training young cavalry recruits in a camp near the old Civil War battlefield of Chickamauga in northern Georgia. He was honorably discharged on October 31, 1898, and returned home. He died on March 29, 1910, at Charlottesville, and is buried at Riverview Cemetery, in Charlottesville.
Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 3/4 card. The mount has been trimmed. Bust view in Confederate uniform with rank of brigadier general. It is thought this photograph was taken some time between September 1863, and November 1864. Period ink inscription on the front mount, Maj. Genl. Thos. L. Rosser, C.S.A. Back mark: E. & H.T. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Maj. Genl. T.F. Rosser, C.S.A., Cavalry Commander. Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album, No. 56 is written in another hand in pencil at the bottom. Very fine image. Rare with this provenance literally making this image "one of a kind."
<h2><u>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</h2></u>
<b>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>
(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.
He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor 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 U.S. 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."
Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.
The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.
Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.
His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.
His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.
His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.
General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!
The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.](https://www.tias.com/stores/war/thumbs/cdv9692a.jpg)
![<b>Killed at Pine Mountain, Ga. in June 1864
From the personal collection of Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Irwin has the distinct honor of being the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in U.S. military history by date of action, February 13, 1861</b>
(1806-64) Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, he was known as the "Bishop Militant." Polk graduated in the West Point class of 1827 with an impressive academic record, excelling in rhetoric and moral philosophy. He graduated eighth of 38 cadets, and was appointed a brevet second lieutenant in the artillery. He resigned from the U.S. Army in December 1827, and entered the Episcopal ministry, and later became Missionary Bishop of the Southwest. Polk was the leading founder of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, which he envisioned as a national university for the Southern United States. Exchanging his clerical vestments for an army uniform upon the outbreak of the War Between the States, he was appointed major general in the Confederate Army on June 25, 1861, and lieutenant general October 10, 1862. In the early months of the war he commanded the vast territory of Department No. 2, including the Mississippi River defenses from the Red River to Paducah, Kentucky. He also organized the Army of Mississippi. He subsequently served as a corps commander at the Battles of Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and in the opening operations of the Atlanta campaign. While examining the Federal position in company with Generals' Joseph E. Johnston and William J. Hardee, Polk was instantly killed by a cannon shot at Pine Mountain, Ga., on June 14, 1864. This artillery fire was initiated when General William T. Sherman spotted a cluster of Confederate generals in an exposed area. Sherman pointed them out to General Oliver O. Howard, commander of the 4th Corps, in Sherman's army, and ordered him to fire upon them, which a battery of the 1st Ohio Light Artillery, commanded by Captain Hubert Dilger, did within minutes. The third shell they fired struck General Polk's left arm, went through his chest, and exited, hitting his right arm, then exploded against a tree; nearly cutting him in half!
Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 3/4 card. Card mount has been trimmed. Bust view in uniform with epaulets. Back mark: E. & H.T. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York, made from a photographic negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery. Written in red period ink on the front mount is: Lt. Genl. Leonidas Polk, C.S.A. Red ink was used to indicate that General Polk had been killed during the war. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Lt. Genl. Leonidas Polk, C.S.A, [in red ink] Killed, June 14, 1864, Pine Mountain. At 58. Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album, No. 128 is written in another hand in pencil at the bottom. Rare with this provenance literally making this image one of a kind.
<u><h2>History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin</u></h2>
<b><h2>Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861.
</b></h2>
(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he later transferred to New York Medical College, where he graduated in 1852.
He served as a surgeon and physician at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor 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 U.S. 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."
Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.
The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.
Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and was promoted to captain in August 1861, and the next year was appointed medical director under Major General William "Bull" Nelson. He improvised one of the first field hospitals used by the U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.
His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.
His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.
His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.
General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!
The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.](https://www.tias.com/stores/war/thumbs/cdv9687a.jpg)
