1978: NOAA announces gender-neutral hurricane naming system
Federal News Network presents a daily update of important moments in the history of the U.S. government.
The earliest military action to be noted with a Medal of Honor award was performed by Col. Bernard J.D. Irwin, an assistant army surgeon serving in the first major U.S.-Apache conflict. Near Apache Pass, in southeastern Arizona, Irwin, an Irish-born doctor, volunteered to go to the rescue of 2nd Lt. George N. Bascom, who was trapped with 60 men of the U.S. Seventh Infantry by the Chiricahua Apaches. The first U.S.-Apache conflict had begun several days before, when Cochise, the Chiricahua Apache chief, kidnapped three white men to exchange for his brother and two nephews held by the U.S. Army on false charges of stealing cattle and kidnapping a child. When the exchange was refused, Cochise killed the white men, and the army responded by killing his relatives, setting off the first of the Apache wars. Irwin and 14 men began the 100-mile trek to Bascom’s forces on Feb. 13, 1861, riding on mules. After fighting and capturing Apaches along the way and recovering stolen horses and cattle, they reached Bascom’s forces on Feb. 14 and proved instrumental in breaking the siege. The Medal of Honor award itself was not created until 1862, and it was not until Jan. 21, 1894, that Irwin received the nation’s highest military honor.
Copyright © 2025 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
