Who was the senator who proposed the creation of an Army Medal of Honor?

Who was the senator who proposed the creation of an Army Medal of Honor in February, 1862

and in what year did Colonel Irwin receive his Congressional Medal of HonorWho was the senator who proposed the creation of an Army Medal of Honor?
Early in the Civil War, a medal for individual valor was proposed by Iowa Senator James W. Grimes to Winfield Scott, the Commanding General of the United States Army. Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861.



Colonel Bernard Irwin's actions on February 13, 1861 are the earliest for which the Medal of Honor was awarded. The Medal of Honor did not exist during this event. The medal was not established until 1862. However, the actions of Colonel Irwin were remembered and he was awarded the Medal of Honor just prior to his retirement on January 21, 1894.