Bernard J. D. Irwin

Bernard John Dowling Irwin performed the action for his Medal of Honor before the Civil War had even begun. With only fourteen men and no horses, the Army surgeon set out on a hundred-mile rescue mission against Cochise's Apaches.

Irwin was born on June 24, 1830, in Ireland and trained as a physician. He entered the U.S. Army medical service and became an assistant surgeon with the 7th U.S. Infantry.

On February 13, 1861, Irwin volunteered to relieve Lieutenant George N. Bascom and about sixty men trapped in Arizona. Riding mules, Irwin's small party fought hostile Apaches, recovered livestock, and reached the besieged command. The action is classified as an Indian Campaign Medal of Honor action, not a Civil War action.

Medal of Honor Citation (condensed)

Volunteered with fourteen men for a hundred-mile rescue, fought hostile Apaches, recovered stock, and helped break the siege of Bascom's command.

Irwin later served through the Civil War as an Army surgeon and eventually retired as a brigadier general. The Army Medical Department and National Library of Medicine give his death as December 15, 1917, correcting a conflicting 1927 date presently shown by CMOHS.

His record is best understood through the documented service, action, and award rather than by filling gaps with unsupported detail.