Four others were twice honored in the early 20th century during peacetime service as well as conflicts in Haiti, China and Mexico.
Nine more men received two Medals of Honor in the 19th century, including Robert Augustus Sweeney, an African American sailor who heroically saved shipmates from drowning in both 18. He later died alongside his brother at 1876’s Battle of Little Bighorn. The first was Civil War cavalryman Thomas Ward Custer, younger brother of George Armstrong Custer, who received his medals for capturing Confederate flags and enemy soldiers on two separate occasions in April 1865. Some 3,500 Americans have received the Medal of Honor since it was first introduced in the 1860s, but to date, only 19 have earned the military’s highest award for valor on two occasions.
