Walker, Mary Edwards (1832-1919), was a pioneer woman physician and a supporter of the women’s rights movement of the late 1800’s. In 1865, she became the first woman to receive the Medal of Honor, the highest military award given by the United States government.
Walker served as a surgeon with the Union Army during the American Civil War. In 1864, she was captured and held for four months in a Confederate prison. She was released in exchange for a Confederate officer. In 1865, she was awarded the Medal of Honor for her medical treatment of Union soldiers.
Walker helped lead a movement aimed at ending the social restrictions on women’s dress. She believed that women should wear whatever they pleased and became known for wearing trousers. She also campaigned to give women the right to vote. Walker wrote several books on the role of women in society, including Hit (1871) and Unmasked, or the Science of Immorality (1878).
Walker was born on Nov. 26, 1832, in Oswego, New York. She graduated from Syracuse Medical College. In 1917, a federal review board revoked Walker’s Medal of Honor, claiming she had never served in the Union Army. The Army restored the award in 1977. Walker died on Feb. 21, 1919.
