Thread by @USArmyCMH

SOLDIER PROFILE – DR. MARY EDWARDS WALKER, ONLY WOMAN TO EARN THE MEDAL OF HONOR

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was a trailblazing figure in American history, serving her country as the Union Army’s only female surgeon during the Civil War and earning the Medal of Honor.

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When the Civil War began, Edwards Walker offered her services as a surgeon to the Union Army, although they initially rejected her because of her gender and offered her a place as a nurse.

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Although technically a nurse, Edwards Walker performed in a surgeon’s role during the early years of the war, and she served in field hospitals and at the U.S. Patent Office Hospital in Washington, D.C.

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In SEP 1863 she at last obtained employment with the War Department as a civilian “Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon” – equivalent in pay and authority to a lieutenant or captain depending on length of service and experience.

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While assigned to the Army of the Cumberland, she briefly replaced the 52d Ohio Inf. surgeon. Edwards Walker wore a modified uniform of her own design: a blue dress resembling an officer’s frock coat and trousers with gold piping, felt hat and the green sash of a surgeon.

Captured by Confederates in APR 1864, she spent four months as a prisoner of war before she and other Union doctors were exchanged for Confederate medical officers. On her release, the War Dept. assigned Mary as medical director in a hospital for women prisoners.

Commended by MGs William T. Sherman and George H. Thomas for meritorious service, Pres. Johnson awarded her the Medal of Honor on 11 NOV 1865. Edwards Walker's Medal of Honor was among 910 rescinded in 1917, although it was restored to her in 1977.