Mortally wounded at the battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia on May 2, 1863

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

(1824-1863) Born in Clarksburg, Virginia (now West Virginia), he graduated in the West Point class of 1846, a class that furnished 24 general officers to the Union and Confederate armies during The War Between the States. He earned the brevets of captain and major during the Mexican War distinguishing himself at the Battle of Chapultepec.
He was an instructor at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., from 1851-61. When Virginia seceded from the Union in May 1861, Jackson joined the Confederate Army.

He distinguished himself as a brigade commander at the 1st Battle of Manassas, on July 21, 1861. He appeared on the field of battle just in the nick of time to furnish crucial reinforcements to the Confederate forces, and beat back a fierce Union assault.

Confederate General Barnard E. Bee, shouted encouragement to his men by saying, look there stands Jackson like a stonewall, rally around the Virginians! From that July day forward, the sobriquet "STONEWALL" stuck with General Jackson forever!

He waged a magnificent campaign of surprise and maneuver in the spring of 1862, against the Federal Army in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, in such places as Kernstown, Front Royal, Winchester, and Port Republic, in what became known as "Jackson's Valley Campaign. Using a combination of great audacity, excellent knowledge of the terrain, and the great ability to inspire his troops to great feats of marching and fighting, his men earned the nickname of "Jackson's Foot Cavalry."

General Jackson was regarded by many military historians to be one of the most gifted tactical commanders in U.S. military history. He would go on to fight in the Seven Days Battles in Virginia, the Battles of Cedar Mountain, 2nd Manassas, Chantilly, Harpers Ferry, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. It was at the Battle of Chancellorsville, one of General Robert E. Lee's greatest victories that General Stonewall Jackson would have his date with destiny, and he was mortally wounded by friendly fire on the evening of May 2, 1863.

While he was returning from a night reconnaissance, Jackson and his staff came upon sentries of the 18th North Carolina Infantry, who mistook the group for a Union cavalry unit. In the confusion shots were fired and General Jackson was struck by 3 bullets, two in the left arm, and one in the right hand. Jackson's personal surgeon, Doctor Hunter Mc Guire, amputated his arm, and he was placed in an army ambulance and brought to a farmhouse at Guinea Station, Va., where he died 8 days later, on May 10, 1863, of complications from pneumonia.

When General Robert E. Lee first learned of Jackson's wounding and the amputation of his left arm, he famously said you have lost your left arm, but I have lost my right arm, illustrating the place that Jackson held in Lee's eyes, and in his gallant Army of Northern Virginia. Lee wrote to Jackson after learning of his injuries: "Could I have directed events, I would have chosen for the good of the country to be disabled in your stead." Lee had not only lost a good friend, but his best tactical general.
The loss of Jackson was catastrophic to the Confederacy. Historians believe that if Stonewall Jackson had been with Lee at Gettysburg, less than 2 months after his death, the epic 3 day battle in the small Pennsylvania farm town may very well have had a much different outcome.
General Jackson's body was moved to the Governor's Mansion in Richmond for the public to mourn, and then was brought back to his beloved Lexington, Va., to be buried in Oak Grove Cemetery.
Lexington, Va., was the town where Jackson taught at V.M.I., and lived in the only house he ever owned in his lifetime.

In 1870, his commander General Robert E. Lee, would join his old comrade in eternal rest, as Lee was interred not far away in the chapel of Washington College, in Lexington.

Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph, mounted to 2 3/8 x 4 card. Corners of the mount are very minutely trimmed. Bust view in Confederate general's uniform. Written in red period ink on the front mount is, "Lt. Genl. Thos. J. Jackson, C.S.A." which is written in period red ink on the front mount. Irwin specifically used red ink to identify all those generals in his collection who were killed during the war. Back mark, C.D. Fredricks & Co., New York, Habana and Paris. RARE.

Irwin also ID the image in period ink on the reverse, "Lieut. Genl. Thos. J. Jackson, C.S.A., "Stonewall."

Going back to his red ink he wrote, "Killed at Chancellosville, Va., May 1863. At 40." Written at the bottom of the reverse is, Genl. B.J.D. Irwin album No. 33. Excellent view.

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.

GENERAL B.J.D. IRWIN: (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 album!