When people ask who the first woman was to receive the Medal of Honor, the answer is both historic and startling: Mary Edwards Walker — and she remains the only woman ever awarded the United States’ highest military decoration.
Let that sink in. Since 1865, no other woman has joined her in that distinction.
A Surgeon in a War That Didn’t Want Her
Born in 1832 in Oswego, New York, Walker was ahead of her time in nearly every way imaginable. She earned her medical degree in 1855 — a rarity for women in the 19th century — and when the Civil War erupted, she volunteered her services to the Union Army.
At first, she was rejected as a commissioned officer simply because she was a woman. So she did what trailblazers do: she showed up anyway.
Walker served as a civilian contract surgeon, treating wounded soldiers near the front lines. She often crossed battle zones to assist civilians as well as troops. In 1864, while aiding wounded soldiers near Confederate territory, she was captured and held as a prisoner of war for four months.
The Medal of Honor — and the Controversy
In 1865, President Andrew Johnson awarded Walker the Medal of Honor for her courage and dedication. At the time, the criteria for the award were broader than today’s standards.
Decades later, in 1917, a review board rescinded 911 Medals of Honor — including Walker’s — arguing that recipients had not engaged in direct combat. She refused to return it. And honestly? That stubborn defiance feels perfectly on-brand.
In 1977, the medal was officially restored by President Jimmy Carter, recognizing that her service and sacrifice absolutely met the spirit of the award.
A Woman Who Refused to Fit the Mold
Walker also made headlines for her dress reform activism. She frequently wore trousers and modified military-style clothing, challenging restrictive norms of 19th-century fashion. She was even arrested multiple times for “impersonating a man.”
But she wasn’t impersonating anyone. She was simply refusing to shrink.
Her life intersected medicine, military history, women’s rights, and social reform — all at a time when society expected her to stay quiet and small.
She did neither.
Why Her Story Still Matters
Mary Edwards Walker’s legacy is more than a medal. It is about persistence when doors are slammed shut. It is about service when recognition is uncertain. It is about standing firm when the system tries to erase you.
She remains:
- The only woman Medal of Honor recipient
- A Civil War prisoner of war
- A pioneering female surgeon
- A lifelong advocate for women’s rights
History doesn’t always move quickly — but sometimes it moves because someone refuses to step aside.
And Mary Edwards Walker? She never stepped aside.
