America's First Medal of Honor & Never Ending War with the Apache: The Tragic Story of the Bascom Affair
Bernard John Dowling Irwin wan an Irish-born American army surgeon who on February 13, 1861 found himself the unlikely commander of a contingent of 14 soldiers of the United States Army’s 7th Infantry Division dispatched on a rescue mission to save 60 American cavalrymen who were surrounded and under siege by the great Apache warrior chief Cochise. For his brave actions on that day Assistant Surgeon Bernard Irwin would go on to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. And although, the Medal of Honor was not established as an award for bravery and valor above and beyond the call of duty in service to the United States until 1862 at the height of the American Civil War, Irwin’s deeds in defeating the great Apache warrior Cochise and rescuing his fellow cavalrymen on February 13, 1861 while surrounded by hostile Apaches, would make his Medal of Honor the earliest awarded for bravery in combat by date of action as it pre-dated the o...