Contract Surgeon Mary Edwards Walker was a contract surgeon with the U.S. Army who received the Medal of Honor for her actions in 1861 in North Carolina, D.C., Tenneesee, Georgia during the Civil War. Walker was about 29 years old.
The medal was presented on November 11, 1865, 4 years after the action. Medal issued in 1865; Walker's Medal of Honor was rescinded following the 1916-1917 review of Army Medal of Honor awards as she was a civilian at the time of her valor; she was restored to the Medal of Honor Roll in 1977.
Walker was born on November 26, 1832 in Oswego County, New York. Her Medal of Honor is credited to Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. Walker died on February 21, 1919 in Oswego, New York, at the age of 86. She is buried at The Rural Cemetery in Oswego, New York. Her medal is held by Pentagon Women's Corridor (medal presented in 1977), Arlington, VA ; Richardson-Bates House Museum (original medal), Oswego, NY.
Walker is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 44 credited to Kentucky.
Official Medal of Honor citation
Whereas it appears from official reports that Dr. Mary E. Walker, a graduate of medicine, "has rendered valuable service to the Government, and her efforts have been earnest and untiring in a variety of ways," and that she was assigned to duty and served as an assistant surgeon in charge of female prisoners at Louisville, Ky., upon the recommendation of Maj. Gens. Sherman and Thomas, and faithfully served as contract surgeon in the service of the United States, and has devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded soldiers, both in the field and hospitals, to the detriment of her own health, and has also endured hardships as a prisoner of war four months in a Southern prison while acting as contract surgeon; and Whereas by reason of her not being a commissioned officer in the military service, a brevet or honorary rank cannot, under existing laws, be conferred upon her; and Whereas in the opinion of the President an honorable recognition of her services and sufferings should be made; It is ordered, That a testimonial thereof shall be hereby made and given to the said Dr. Mary E. Walker, and that the usual medal of honor for meritorious services be given her. Given under my hand in the city of Washington, D.C., this 11th day of November, A.D. 1865. ~ Andrew Johnson
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
How she died
- Manner of death: natural causes
- Age at death: 86
- Resting place: The Rural Cemetery
Cause and manner of death: Wikidata.
Other decorations and honors
Besides the Medal of Honor, Mary Edwards Walker received:
Source: Wikidata. Gold chips link to our guide to that decoration.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: American Civil War.
Life beyond the battlefield
- Occupations: physician, women's rights activist, feminist, abolitionist
- Education: Geneva Medical College
Source: Wikidata.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Kentucky →
Timeline
- November 26, 1832Born in Oswego County, New York
- 1861Act of valor — North Carolina, D.C., Tenneesee, GeorgiaAge about 29.
- November 11, 1865Medal of Honor presentedMedal issued in 1865; Walker's Medal of Honor was rescinded following the 1916-1917 review of Army Medal of Honor awards as she was a civilian at the time of her valor; she was restored to the Medal of Honor Roll in…
- February 21, 1919Died in Oswego, New YorkAge 86.
- Resting placeThe Rural CemeteryOswego, New York
Biography
Mary Edwards Walker (November 26, 1832 – February 21, 1919), commonly referred to as Dr. Mary Walker, was an American abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war in the American Civil War, and surgeon. She is the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor. In 1855, she earned her medical degree at Syracuse Medical College in New York, married and started a medical practice. She attempted to join the Union Army at the outbreak of the Civil War, but was turned away. She served as a surgeon at a temporary hospital in Washington, D.C. before being hired by Union Forces and assigned to Army of the Cumberland and later the 52nd Ohio Infantry, becoming the first female surgeon in the US Army.
From the Wikipedia article “Mary Edwards Walker”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
Named in her honor
- Whitman-Walker Health — medical facility, nonprofit organization
Videos
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