CDV, General Patrick R. Cleburne

He was killed in action at the 1864 Battle of Franklin, Tennessee

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


(1828-64) Born near Cork, Ireland, he was one of only two foreign born officers to attain the rank of major general in the Confederacy. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was elected Colonel of the 15th Arkansas Infantry, and by March 4, 1862, was...  

CDV, General Alexander P. Stewart

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

(1821-1908) Born in Rogersville, Tennessee, he graduated #12 in the West Point class of 1842, with his roommate being future Confederate General James Longstreet. During the Civil War he commanded the heavy artillery and water batteries at Belmont, Missouri, and was assigned to brigade command under General Leonidas Polk. He...  

CDV, General William N.R. Beall

Autographed carte de visite

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

(1825-83) Born in Bardstown, Ky., he relocated to Arkansas before his 10th birthday. He graduated #13 in the West Point class of 1848, and was commissioned into the U.S. Infantry serving in the 4th, and 5th regiments on the western frontier. On March 3, 1855, he was promoted to 1st...  

CDV, General Daniel Harvey Hill

Colonel 1st North Carolina Infantry

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

(1821-89) Born at Hill's Iron Works in York District, South Carolina. He graduated in the West Point class of 1842, and fought in the Mexican War earning rank of brevet captain for for bravery at the Battle of Contreras and the Battle of Churubusco, and brevetted major for gallantry...  

Signed CDV, General Braxton Bragg

Autographed carte de visite photograph with New Orleans, Louisiana back mark

Commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee

Very rare Confederate image

(1817-76) Born in Warrenton, North Carolina, he graduated in the West Point class of 1837 where his classmates included notable future Civil War Union Generals Joseph Hooker, and John Sedgwick, and future Confederate Generals John C. Pemberton, and Jubal A. Early. In Bragg's pre Civil War U.S. Army career he fought against the Florida Seminole Indians, and served gallantly in...  

CDV, General William W. Loring

Had his arm amputated in the Mexican War

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

(1818-86) Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, he was known as "Old Blizzards." His early military career saw him in action against the Florida Seminoles. Later he studied law and was elected to the Florida legislature. Commissioned directly in the Regular Army in 1846...  

CDV, General Samuel Jones

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

(1819-87) Born at "Woodfield," his family's plantation in Powhatan County, Va. Graduated in the West Point class of 1841. From 1846-51 Jones held the position of assistant professor of mathematics and instructor of infantry and artillery tactics at the United States Military Academy. He resigned from the U.S. Army...  

CDV, General Thomas L. Rosser

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

(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...  

CDV, General Edward Johnson

He was seriously wounded during the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign

Johnson led General Stonewall Jackson's old division at Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania

He was captured at Spotsylvania while defending the Bloody Angle in May 1864

Johnson was captured at the battle of Nashville, Tennessee in December 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,...  

CDV, General John B. Magruder

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

(1807-71) Known as "Prince John," a resplendently uniformed man with a theatrical manner, he attained a reputation for his social grace and etiquette. Born at Port Royal, Virginia, he graduated in the West Point class of 1830. He fought gallantry during the Mexican War, while an artillery officer, and at the Battle...  

CDV, General James Longstreet

Commanded the 1st Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia

Severely wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia in May 1864

(1821-1904) Born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, he was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the Civil War, and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse." An 1842 graduate of West Point, Longstreet fought in the Mexican War, and was wounded in the Battle of Chapultepec. Throughout the 1850s, he served on the western frontier. In June...  

CDV, General Simon B. Buckner

Confederate Lieutenant General

Governor of Kentucky

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

(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....