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 weeks before he would have graduated. He was appointed a 1st lieutenant in the Regular Confederate army, and assigned as instructor to the Washington Artillery at New Orleans, La. He commanded a company of this regiment at the Battle of 1st Manassas, Va., in July 1861. After being severely wounded at Mechanicsville, Va., he was made colonel of the 5th Virginia Cavalry, at the request of General J.E.B. Stuart. He commanded the advance of Stuart's cavalry expedition to Catlett's Station, and was notable in the Second Battle of Manassas. During the fighting at Crampton's Gap, at the Battle of South Mountain, Md., his cavalry delayed the advance of General William B. Franklin's 6th Corps with help from Major John Pelham's artillery. At Sharpsburg, his men screened the left flank of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. He was seriously wounded at Kelly's Ford, Va., where his West Point roommate, "the gallant Pelham" was killed. Rosser was disabled until the Gettysburg Campaign, where he commanded his regiment in the fighting at Hanover, and the East Cavalry Field at Gettysburg. He continued to lead the 5th Virginia Cavalry with brilliant success until he was promoted brigadier general September 28, 1863. Rosser succeeded General Beverly Robertson in command of the "Laurel Brigade," and continued to win honors in the Overland Campaign of 1864 driving back a large force of Union cavalry and artillery at the Battle of the Wilderness. Rosser was again wounded at Trevilian Station, Va., where his brigade captured a number of prisoners from his former West Point classmate and close personal friend General George Armstrong Custer. His brigade later gallantly fought against General Philip H. Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, and he efficiently commanded General Fitzhugh Lee's division at Cedar Creek. A rare defeat occurred when General Custer overran Rosser's troops at the Battle of Tom's Brook, which allowed Custer to repay Rosser for Trevilian Station. For no tactical reason, Custer chased Rosser's troops for over 10 miles and the action became known as the great "Woodstock Races." Custer had also captured Rosser's private wardrobe wagon at Tom's Brook, and Rosser immediately messaged him:
Dear Fanny,
You may have made me take a few steps back today, but I will be even with you tomorrow. Please accept my good wishes and this little gift—a pair of your draws captured at Trevillian Station.
Tex
Custer shipped Rosser's gold-laced Confederate grey coat with this reply:
Dear friend,
Thanks for setting me up in so many new things, but would you please direct your tailor to make the coat tails of your next uniform a trifle shorter.
Best regards, G.A.C. [George Armstrong Custer].
General Rosser became known in the Southern press as the "Saviour of the Valley," and was promoted to major general in November 1864. He conducted a successful raid on New Creek, West Virginia, taking hundreds of prisoners and seizing much needed quantities of supplies. In January 1865, he took 300 men, crossed the mountains in deep snow and bitter cold, and surprised and captured two infantry regiments in their works at Beverly, West Virginia, takng almost 600 prisoners. Rosser commanded a cavalry division during the Siege of Petersburg in the spring of 1865, fighting near Five Forks, Va. It was here that Rosser hosted the "infamous" shad bake 2 miles north of the battle lines preceding and during the primary Federal assault. Guests at this small affair included Generals' George E. Pickett, and Fitzhugh Lee. It is said that Pickett only made it back to his division after over half his troops had been shot or captured, and Lee never forgave Pickett for his absence from his post when the Federals broke the Confederate lines and carried the day at Five Forks. Rosser was conspicuous during the Appomattox Campaign, capturing a Union general, John Irvin Gregg, and rescuing a wagon train near Farmville. He led a daring early morning charge at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, and escaped with his command as Lee surrendered the bulk of the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant. Under orders from the Secretary of War, he began reorganizing the scattered remnants of Lee's army in a vain attempt to join General Joseph E. Johnston's army in North Carolina. However, he surrendered at Staunton, Virginia, on May 4th and was paroled shortly afterwards. In 1886, he bought a plantation near Charlottesville, Va., and became a gentleman farmer. On June 10, 1898, President William McKinley appointed Rosser a brigadier general of United States volunteers during the Spanish–American War. His first task was training young cavalry recruits in a camp near the old Civil War battlefield of Chickamauga in northern Georgia. He was honorably discharged on October 31, 1898, and returned home. He died on March 29, 1910, at Charlottesville, and is buried at Riverview Cemetery, in Charlottesville.
Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 3/4 card. The mount has been trimmed. Bust view in Confederate uniform with rank of brigadier general. It is thought this photograph was taken some time between September 1863, and November 1864. Period ink inscription on the front mount, Maj. Genl. Thos. L. Rosser, C.S.A. Back mark: E. & H.T. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York. Written in period ink in Irwin's hand on the reverse is, Maj. Genl. T.F. Rosser, C.S.A., Cavalry Commander. Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album, No. 56 is written in another hand in pencil at the bottom. Very fine image. Rare with this provenance literally making this image "one of a kind."
History of United States Surgeon & General Bernard John Dowling Irwin
Surgeon & General Irwin was the first United States Medal of Honor Recipient by date of action, February 13, 1861
(1830-1917) Born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1840s. He attended New York University from 1848 to 1849, and then served as a private in the New York Militia. In 1850, he entered Castleton Medical College, and he 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, NYC, until his appointment as assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1856. He was an assistant army surgeon during the Apache Wars, and was the first Medal of Honor recipient chronologically by date of action. His actions on February 13, 1861, at Apache Pass, Arizona, are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded! The citation on his medal of honor reads; "Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th U.S. Infantry, who, with 60 men, was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses, began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and helped break his siege."
Cochise, the Apache Indian chief, and a group of Apache warriors were accused of kidnapping a boy and a small group of U.S. soldiers in the Arizona Territory after the Army had captured Cochise's brother and nephews. When the Army refused to make a prisoner exchange, Cochise killed his prisoners. Soldiers then killed Cochise's brother and nephews. 2nd Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom led a group of 60 men from the 7th U.S. Infantry after Cochise but was soon besieged, prompting a rescue mission by the army. In response to the siege of Bascom and his men, Irwin set out on a rescue mission with 14 men of the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He was able to catch up with the Apaches at Apache Pass in present day Arizona. He strategically placed his small unit around Cochise and his men, tricking the Apache leader into thinking that he had a much larger army with him. The Apaches fled and Bascom and his men were saved. Bascom and his men joined Irwin and together they were able to track Cochise into the mountains & rescued the young boy that Cochise had captured.
The Medal of Honor did not exist during the time of the "Bascom Incident," and would not be established until a year later in 1862. However, the actions of Irwin were well remembered, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement. Irwin's actions were the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded, predating the outbreak of the American Civil War.
Irwin subsequently served with the Union army during the Civil War, and 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 U.S. Army at the Battle of Shiloh, on April 7, 1862. He was captured during the Battle of Richmond, Ky., while attempting to save the wounded General Nelson. He was promoted to major in September 1862, and after his release from a Rebel prison he became medical director in the Army of the Southwest. From 1863 to 1865, he was superintendent of the military hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and in March of 1865, he was brevetted to the rank of colonel. He was a companion of the California Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Order of the Indian Wars of the United States. After the Civil War, Irwin served as a senior medical officer at several U.S. army posts, including West Point from 1873 to 1878. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1885, to colonel in August 1890, and to brigadier general in April 1904. He died in Ontario, Canada, on December 15, 1917, and is buried in the West Point Cemetery, at the U.S. Military Academy, New York.
His son George LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1889, and served in World War I, becoming a Major General in the U.S. Army.
His grandson Stafford LeRoy Irwin, graduated from West Point in 1915, and served in World War II, and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army.
His daughter, Amy Irwin Addams McCormick, was a nurse with the American Red Cross and served during World War I.
General Irwin was an admirer and collector of photographs, and he put together a very large, and superb collection of Union and Confederate images. Interestingly, he collected photographs of both Rebel and Yankee alike. I have owned several famous military photograph albums before and never came across one that collected images from both sides of the rebellion. He numbered each individual image, and wrote a brief historical notation on each one. The collection was split up by another dealer, and by the time I found out about it, I was still very fortunate to be able to acquire about one third of his superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!
The image of B.J.D. Irwin pictured here is a copy photograph from the "Find a Grave" website and is used here for illustration purposes only.
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