Accompanied President Abraham Lincoln's body on the Lincoln Funeral train from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois.

Buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois, which is where President Lincoln is buried.

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

(1812-1890) Born near Hardinsburg, Kentucky, he moved with his family to illinois in 1816, and was self educated, and admitted to the bar in 1832, took part in the Black Hawk Indian War, was an Illinois assemblyman, and served a number of terms in the U.S. Congress from Illinois where he became known for his bombastic oratory firmly dedicated to the principles of Jacksonian democracy and supported the Compromise of 1850. He was an important ally to Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas who played a crucial role in formulating the Compromise of 1850, and McClernand served as a liaison for him in the House of Representatives during the debate over the proposed compromise. McClernand also served as Chairman of the Committee on Public Lands from 1845 to 1847 and on the Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1849 to 1851. McClernand supported Douglas in the 1860 presidential election. He was appointed brigadier general of volunteers, on May 17, 1861, and major general March 21, 1862. During the Civil War he saw action at Forts Henry and Donelson, Belmont, Shiloh, commanded an expedition to capture Arkansas Post, and commanded the 13th Corps under General U.S. Grant during the Vicksburg. He commanded a detachment of two divisions from the XIII Corps in the Red River Campaign. McClernand rode on the funeral train of President Abraham Lincoln from Washington to Springfield, Illinois, which departed from Washington on April 23, 1865, and arrived in Springfield on May 3, 1865. There were eight divisions in Lincoln's funeral procession with General McClernand at the front of the second division which preceded the hearse. McClernand served as district judge of the Sangamon (Illinois) District from 1870 to 1873, and was chairman of the 1876 Democratic National Convention, which nominated Samuel J. Tilden for President of the United States. His last public service was on a federal advisory commission overseeing the Utah Territory, beginning in 1886. Having been in ill health for several years, McClernand died in Springfield, Illinois on September 20, 1900. He is interred at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield.

Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 3 7/8 card. Standing view in uniform with rank of major general. His slouch hat is just visible on the table at his side. Back mark: E. & H.T. Anthony, 501 Broadway, New York, made from a photographic negative from Brady's National Portrait Gallery. The mount is slightly trimmed. Very sharp image. Maj. Genl. J.A. McClernand, U.S.A. is written in period ink on the front mount, and Irwin ID in period ink on the reverse, Maj. Genl. J.A. McClernand, U.S.A., Comdg. 13rh Corps d' Armee. This image came from the famous General B.J.D. Irwin album. Written at the bottom of the reverse is, Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album No. 154. Excellent view. Rare "one of a kind image" having come from the General Irwin album!

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 Rebels and Yankees 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. His was a superb Civil War image collection. Each image is rare because it is "one of a kind" having come from the Irwin collection!