The Medal of Honor

A Female Recipient

The only woman to receive the Medal of Honor was Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a graduate of Syracuse Medical College and one of the first women physicians in this country. She was an ardent advocate of women's rights, and she often delivered lectures on the subject. She also preferred men's attire to dresses and skirts at a time when this was not quite acceptable.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Dr. Walker, then 29 years of age, applied for a commission as a Union Army Surgeon. She was turned down because of her sex. She served as a volunteer surgeon for two years in the Virginia Campaigns and then at Chattanooga and Chickamauga. Finally, George H. Thomas appointed her to replace an assistant surgeon of the 52nd Ohio Infantry Regiment. A month later she was captured and sent to a Confederate prison in Richmond.

After four months there, she was exchanged for a Confederate officer. This pleased her no end as she was swapped as man for man. She then served as a contract surgeon with the Union forces but saw no more combat duty.

After the war, she lobbied for a rank of major. After several angry letters from Dr. Walker, President Johnson asked Secretary Stanton if there was some way to recognize her service. Stanton ordered a Medal of Honor for her, and it was awarded in January, 1866. She wore it every day for the rest of her life.

In 1916, the Army Review Board rescinded Dr. Walker's Medal of Honor because "her service did not appear to have been distinguished in action or otherwise." She continued to wear her medal, though then illegally, until her death February 21, 1919, at the age of 86. In 1978 President Carter restored Dr. Walker's Medal of Honor.