"In all the wars since the first medal was presented in 1861, there have been just a few more than 3,500 acts deemed worthy of this, the most prestigious medal the United States presents to its soldiers- and half that number of medals were bestowed during the Civil War. The winners of the Congressional Medal of Honor are in a rare and stratospheric atmosphere, as well they should be. Most Medal of Honor winners received theirs posthumously- a darkly simple way to gauge what it took to get one. The actions of these extraordinary heroes were, as Abraham Lincoln noted, "the last full measure of devotion.""