The first Medals of Honor were given to many of the participants of the Andrews' Raid, some posthumously. Of the 3,464 Medals of Honor awarded to date, 1,522 were awarded during the American Civil War. In 1916, a board consisting of five retired generals reviewed Army awards and recommended that these 864, as well as others, be revoked. 311 accepted, but because there was no official list of their names, the War Department issued 864 - one for each man in the unit. Stanton promised a Medal of Honor to every man in the 27th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment who extended his enlistment. Thus, it was often awarded for reasons that would not now satisfy the stringent modern criteria. While the Medal of Honor is now the highest military decoration attainable by a member of the United States armed forces, during the Civil War, it was the only one. It was "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities during the present war." Legislation to include the Army was signed into law on July 12, 1862. President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill containing a provision for the medal for the Navy on December 21, 1861. The Medal of Honor was first awarded in the American Civil War (April 1861 – May 1865).
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