On this day in history, February 13, 1861, Army surgeon JD Irwin saves 60 men in the first Medal of Honor campaign

On this day in history, February 13, 1861, U.S. Army Assistant Surgeon Bernard John Dowling “JD” Irwin rescued a kidnapped boy and 60 soldiers who were surrounded by the legendary Apache warrior Cochise.

Irwin’s heroic service as a volunteer in dire circumstances in the Arizona Territory went down in American military history as the first Medal of Honor campaign of the United States.

It took place before the award even existed.

The Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest recognition of bravery, was created the following year during the Civil War.

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Irwin received the Medal of Honor in 1894.

The surgeon volunteered to lead 14 men and a mule train on a 100-mile trek through a snowstorm during the rescue.

Bernard “JD” Irwin rescued 60 men and a kidnapped boy from Apache warriors on February 13, 1861. It was the first Medal of Honor campaign in American military history. (public domain)

The dramatic encounter began days earlier when, according to numerous sources, a group of Apache abducted a boy who had settled with his family in the Arizona Territory.

The kidnapping led to a frantic pursuit by American troops from Fort Breckenridge, who were then surrounded by the Apaches.

“Assistant Surgeon Irwin volunteered to command troops and attack and defeat enemy Indians he encountered along the way,” says Irwin’s Medal of Honor citation, issued more than 30 years later.

“Irwin was determined to use his military skills now to save his comrades.” – HomeOfHeroes.com

“Surgeon Irwin volunteered to rescue Second Lieutenant George N. Bascom, 7th Infantry, trapped with 60 men from Chiricahua-Apaches under Cochise … Irwin and 14 men, having no horses, began the 100 miles -March on mules. After fighting and capturing Native Americans and recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom’s column and helped break his siege.

HomeofHeroes.com, a website dedicated to the history of Medal of Honor, offers a more dramatic account of the milestone in military history.

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“Irwin, used to using his medical skills to save lives, was determined to now use his military skills to save his comrades,” the outlet notes.

Because of limited resources at Fort Breckenridge, he was only allowed to man mules and a handful of men.

(Original caption) Cochise (1812?-1874), chief of the American Apaches. Undated copy of a painting. (Getty Images)

“Facing a 100-mile trek in the midst of a winter snowstorm, the logistics of the mission were as unlikely as the possibility of encountering and defeating the much larger enemy force and rescuing the prisoners.”

What followed at Apache Pass, Arizona on February 13 was an act of tactical ingenuity in the face of overwhelming odds.

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“With a carefully crafted plan and the maximum placement of his 14 men, Irwin managed to convince the Indian warriors that he had arrived with a much larger force, prompting them to retreat,” reports HomeofHeroes.com.

“Bascom’s 60 men were freed and joined Irwin and his 14 soldiers. The combined force then pursued Cochise into the mountains where they were able to engage him and rescue the captured boy.”

Charles Bateman played Lt. Bernard Irwin, the US Army physician who was the first to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. (Denver Post via Getty Images)

Irwin was born in County Roscommon, Ireland in 1830 and moved to the United States sometime in the 1840s.

As a teenager he joined the New York militia, studied medicine and became a US Army surgeon in 1856.

He served as a distinguished battlefield surgeon in the Civil War, most notably the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. At one point during the war he was captured by Confederate forces and briefly held captive.

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Irwin eventually attained the rank of brigadier general.

He was highly skilled in battlefield medicine and surgery, apart from his exploits in receiving the nation’s highest decoration for bravery.

“Many Fighting Today”: Union troops of the 9th Illinois at the Battle of Shiloh during the Civil War. The 9th Illinois Infantry was in Shiloh, Tennessee on April 6, 1862 when the Confederate Army of the Mississippi River struck at dawn. Oil on canvas by Keith Rocco, 1995. “Ben-Hur” author General Lew Wallace served at the Battle of Shiloh, where he took the blame for the failure of the Union Army in the eventual victory in the North. (VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images)

“During the Indian Wars, Irwin served as an assistant surgeon and is credited with performing the first operation in the state of Arizona and inventing the first tent hospital during the Civil War,” writes Health.mil, the website of the Military Health System and Defense Health Agency.

The site adds, “Irwin was also an exceptional commander.”

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Irwin’s son George and grandson Stafford served in World War I and World War II, and both became generals in the US Army. He died in 1917 at the age of 87.

Brig. General JD Irwin was buried today in the US Military Academy Cemetery at West Point.