March 25 is when we honor our Medal of Honor recipients. The award is reserved for America’s bravest of the brave. Since 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln crafted it into being, the medal has been awarded 3,498 times. But one recipient stands out from the pack: Mary Walker.
In 1865, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was awarded the Medal of Honor for her bravery in healing wounded soldiers during the Civil War. She remains one of only a handful of civilians to receive the award. And she’s the only woman to have ever claimed the distinction.
Walker was born in upstate New York in 1832. After graduating medical school in 1855, she married a fellow doctor, Albert Miller, and set up a private practice in New York. She continued working in her practice until the war ramped up.
In 1862, she began volunteering as a nurse at an army camp in Washington D.C. And by the next year, she was working as a surgeon for an Ohio regiment. It’s said she was soon taken prisoner and then later exchanged for a Confederate soldier being held by the Union. Some accounts claim Walker let herself be captured in an effort to serve as a Union spy.
But whatever led to her capture, one thing is clear: She didn’t let it hold her back. A few months after her release, she was back at it as a surgeon with the Ohio 52nd Infantry. Stories say it was common to find her crossing battle lines to help the wounded.
After the war, Mary Walker became known for championing women’s rights. One of the more famous examples is her fight to change ideas about what women could wear. Walker, despite harsh criticism, was a big supporter of an early version of women’s trousers known as the Bloomer costume. She wore them for years until she finally settled on dressing in men’s clothes.
“I have made it possible for the bicycle girl to wear the abbreviated skirt,” she once said. “And I have prepared the way for the girl in knickerbockers.”
Walker’s name was removed from the official list of medal recipients in 1917, two years before her death. Stories from the time tell how she refused to give up her medal, wearing it proudly until she died. The honor was restored to her in 1977.
Veteran Energy is proud to highlight the life of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker. She was brave in her pursuits. And she serves as an inspiration to both men and women.
