Sfc Paul Chambers

12 JULY 1862 - ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MEDAL OF HONOR

On 12 July 1862, while the nation was engaged in the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the measure that called for a U.S. Army Medal of Honor, to be awarded in the name of Congress, “to such noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection.” Lincoln had approved a similar provision that created a U.S. Navy Medal of Valor, which provided the basis of the Army Medal of Honor created by Congress in July 1862.
As noted, the Medal of Honor was originally intended to be an award to enlisted members, but in 1863, when the Medal of Honor became a permanent military decoration, it also became available to all members of the Armed Forces, including commissioned officers.

Since its creation in 1862, more than 3,400 men and one woman of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard have received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions.
The official name of the award is the Medal of Honor and is awarded by the president in the name of Congress. It is not “The Congressional Medal of Honor.”
The first U.S. Army recipients of the Medal of Honor were six members of a raiding party who penetrated deep into Confederate territory during the Great Locomotive Chase of 1862.