During the whole sweep of United States history, only one woman, Mary Edwards Walker, has received the Medal of Honor. Sometimes called the Congressional Medal of Honor, it is the United States Armed Forces’ highest military decoration, awarded to recognize the 3,500 American soldiers of all service branches who have distinguished themselves by their acts of valor (Wikipedia, 2025).
Mary Edwards Walker served as a surgeon, advocate for women’s rights, abolitionist, and spy for the Union Army.
In 1855 Walker graduated from Syracuse Medical College, the second female doctor in American history, after Elizabeth Blackwell, who had graduated in 1849. At the beginning of the Civil War, Walker felt called to aid the Union side of the conflict. As she grew up, her family had advocated gender and racial equality, and had hidden fleeing slaves on their farm, which was a station of the Underground Railroad (Alexander and Rothberg, 2023).
Walker stood out in her society due to her progressive views. When she married, she refused to promise to “obey” in her wedding vows, she kept her maiden name, and she wore a short skirt with trousers during the ceremony. She had previously adopted the “Bloomer costume,” pants under a knee-length dress with a tight waist and a full skirt, and this became what she always
wore, even as a battlefield surgeon. (Hand, 2025).
At the onset of the war she traveled to Washington, D.C., hoping to join the Army as a surgeon. Her request for a formal commission was futile, so she volunteered as an assistant surgeon instead. In 1863 her request to serve as a surgeon was granted and she became the first female U.S. Army surgeon. Naturally she wore her skirt/trouser costume as a uniform because she thought this was more comfortable and hygienic in her role as a surgeon. She bravely crossed battle lines to care for both soldiers and civilians. In 1864 she was captured by Confederate troops and accused of spying. Held a prisoner for four months, she insisted on wearing men’s clothes during her imprisonment (Alexander and Rothberg, 2023). As part of a prisoner exchange in 1864 she was swapped for a man, leading to her feeling that this was a validation from the Army of the worth of her gender.
She applied for a military pension after the war, but President Andrew Johnson awarded her the Congressional Medal instead for valuable service to the government through earnest and untiring efforts. Although it was revoked later for lack of active combat service, she refused to return it and wore it every day until she died. It was restored posthumously in 1977. To this day she is the only female recipient of this award. In 2024 the U.S. Postal Service honored this outstanding woman by issuing the Dr. Mary Edwards Walker stamp and the U.S. Treasury minted the Dr. Mary Edwards Walker quarter coin as part of the American Women Quarters Program (Browne, February 18, 2025).
During her lifetime (1832-1919) she was constantly harassed and even arrested for her views and behavior. At one of her trials, she stated that she would “dress as I please in free America on whose tented fields I have served for four years in the cause of human freedom” (Hand, 2025). Walker is quoted as saying, “I don’t wear men’s clothes. I wear my clothes” (Aucoin, 2025).
Today we recognize that Dr. Walker was ahead of her time. Her advocacy for better healthcare, dress and election reform for women, and equal pay showed her strong character and perseverance. Her fight was valiant, yet not all her goals were attained. Even today female
veterans face disapproval and inequality. They are not usually seen as equals on the battlefield or within the ranks (Hand, 2025).
Women took on many roles in this war. Asserting their value, Dr. Walker stated, “let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom.” (Hottenstein, October 31, 2022). Mary Edwards Walker wanted the bravery and accomplishments of both men and women who fought in the Civil War to be remembered and celebrated.
Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen – MISNS – exists to serve our female veterans who fought bravely on behalf of their country and suffered moral injury as a result (MISNS, 2025). An ally in this cause is the Wounded Warrior Project, which has created the Women Warriors Initiative to empower female veterans (Hand, 2025).
The MISNS ATHENA Nexus program seeks narratives that help women to identify their specific needs and to offer support services.
MISNS is signing up organizations as partners, seeking funding from grantors, sponsors, anddonors, and recruiting women veterans to participate in a pilot program.
Interested individuals can contact Dr. Roberts at droberts@chaplainconsultants.com.
Learn more about Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. and sign up for our newsletter at: https://misns.org.
Get to know our team: https://misns.org/about-us/
Donate to our cause: https://misns.org/donation/
Susan Sganga is the Media Specialist for Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. and is a public health specialist located in North Carolina. She can be reached at 704-254-1548 or susanpsganga@gmail.com.
Sources
Alexander, Kerri Lee, and Rothberg, Emma Z. (2023). Mary Edwards Walker. National Womens History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-edwards-walker
Aucoin, Jessie. (June 4, 2024). Dr. Mary Edwards Walker recognized on new U.S. quarter. Smithsonian American Womens History Museum. https://womenshistory.si.edu.
Browne, Jude. (February 18, 2925). Mary Edwards Walker. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Edwards-Walker
Hand, Kendra, (2025). Dr. Mary E. Walker: The sole female medal of honor recipient. Wounded Warrior Project. https://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/Dr-Mary-E-Walker-The-Sole-Female-Medal-of-Honor-Recipient
Hottenstein, Hannah. (October 31, 2022). Celebrate Gettysburg: the sawbones suffragette. https://celebrategettysburg.com/dr-walker/
Owlcation. https://owlcation.com/humanities/Mary-Edwards-Walker-The-Only-Female-to-Have-Been-Awarded-the-Medal-of-Honor. Photograph.
Wikipedia. (March 6, 2025). Mary Edwards Walker. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Edwards_Walker Medal of Honor