“The Overlook” appears on Tuesdays and Fridays. An overlook is usually a place from which one can see in many if not all directions, including where one has been and where one is going. There is no political or personal agenda at work here other than to tell stories that from time to time will have a particular relevance. If you enjoy the column, please like/share it with others and hit the ‘Subscribe’ button (it’s free). The more the merrier!
You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight into our hearts.
Cochise
It was 160 years ago this week that the earliest action resulting in the awarding of the Medal of Honor took place. However, the recipient, Bernard John Dowling Irwin, was not actually given the MOH until 33 years after that heroic action.
First, some background on America’s highest military honor – which is not, by the way, the Congressional Medal of Honor, as it is often called. The MOH may be awarded to soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and even Space Force guardians who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States, but because it is presented "in the name of the United States Congress" it is often referred to, incorrectly, as the Congressional Medal of Honor.
There are three distinct variants of the medal: one for the Department of the Army, awarded to soldiers; one for the Department of the Navy, awarded to sailors and Marines as well as Coast Guardsmen of the Department of Homeland Security; and the Department of the Air Force variant is awarded to airmen and Space Force guardians. The Medal of Honor was introduced for the Department of the Navy in 1861, soon followed by the Department of the Army's version the following year. The Department of the Air Force used the Department of the Army's version until they received their own distinctive version in 1965. The Medal of Honor is the oldest continuously issued combat decoration of the United States Armed Forces. According to the Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States, there have been 3,526 Medals of Honor awarded to 3,507 individuals since the decoration's creation, with over 40% awarded for actions during the American Civil War. (One of the more unusual recipients was Tom Custer, brother of George, who earned two MOHs.)
Back to Bernard Irwin. He was born on June 24, 1830, in County Roscommon, Ireland, and immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, but 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 until his appointment as an assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856.
Now we – and Irwin – head to the Southwest just before the Civil War. In January 1861, he was stationed at a fort in Arizona. At that time, Cochise, the Chiricahua Apache chief, and a group of Apache warriors were erroneously accused of kidnapping the 12-year-old nephew of a rancher. A lieutenant, George Bascom, was ordered from the fort with authority to use whatever means necessary to punish the kidnappers and recapture the boy. Bascom and 54 Army soldiers journeyed to Apache Pass, arriving on February 3 to meet with Cochise. Suspicious of Bascom's intentions, Cochise brought along his brother Coyuntwa, two nephews, his wife, and his two children. At the meeting Cochise truthfully said he knew nothing of the raid. Doubting Cochise's honesty, Bascom imprisoned him and his family members in a tent to be held hostage, but Cochise was able to escape alone by slashing a hole in the canvas wall.
Two days later, Cochise delivered a message to Bascom asking for the release of his family, but Bascom refused and told Cochise that they would be set free just so soon as the boy was released not accepting that the Apache leader did not know of his whereabouts. The following day, Cochise and his warriors attacked a group of American and Mexican teamsters. After torturing and killing the nine Mexicans, Cochise took the three Americans hostage, offering them in exchange for his family. No dice: Bascom maintained that he would accept nothing other than the return of the boy plus the cattle that had been stolen with him.
On February 7, Cochise and his men attacked Bascom's soldiers while they were fetching water then they fled with the teamster hostages to Sonora, Mexico, which was outside American jurisdiction. On the way he tortured and killed the American prisoners and left their remains to be discovered by Bascom. In retaliation, Cochise’s brother and nephews were hung. In retaliation for that, Cochise and his warriors returned and attacked Bascom’s force and things looked grim for the besieged soldiers.
Word reached the fort and Irwin, though a medical man, set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass and strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men to trick them into thinking that Irwin had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. However, Cochise vowed vengeance, and what became known as the “Bascom Affair” was the catalyst of a 25-year war the Apaches waged against the U.S. government.
Because the Medal of Honor did not exist at this time, Irwin was mostly given a pat on the back. He subsequently served with the Union Army during the American Civil War. He 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 Army at the Battle of Shiloh on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond while attempting to save the wounded Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release the following month Irwin became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis and in March 1865 was brevetted to the rank of colonel.
After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several posts, including at West Point from 1873 to 1878. He received promotions to lieutenant colonel in September 1885 and to colonel in August 1890. He retired shortly after his 64th birthday, and promoted to brigadier general on the retired list in 1894, when he was also finally awarded the Medal of Honor for his rescue mission in 1861. His son George LeRoy Irwin, who graduated from West Point in 1889, served in World War I and became a major general in the Army. His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, who graduated from West Point in 1915, served in World War II and became a lieutenant general in the Army.
A couple of more tidbits about Bernard Irwin. He had an interest in natural history and while at Fort Buchanan, Arizona, he collected reptile specimens for the Smithsonian Institution. In 1857, Irwin donated a meteorite to the Smithsonian that came to be known as the Irwin-Ainsa meteorite. And a collection of his papers is held at the National Library of Medicine.
For you buffs of old TV shows: The Irwin-Bascom MOH event is dramatized in the 1966 episode "The Hero of Apache Pass” on the syndicated televisionanthology series “Death Valley Days,” hosted by Robert Taylor.
Tom Clavin is the bestselling author/co-author of 18 books, including, most recently, “Tombstone: The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride From Hell.” The next collaboration with Bob Drury, “Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America’s First Frontier,” will be published in April by St. Martin’s Press. There is a pre-order promotion underway which includes a specially made bookmark. Please go to read.macmillan.com/promo/smpbloodandtreasurepreorderpromo.