Dr. Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919)

Mary Edwards Walker was the first female surgeon in the U.S. Army. To this day she is the only woman to receive the highest decoration for military bravery: the Medal of Honor. In 1861 Walker volunteered for the Union Army and served as an assistant surgeon. It is generally agreed that Walker was a spy; she crossed frequently behind enemy lines to treat civilians. Arrested by the Confederates in 1864 for espionage, Walker was held as a prisoner of war in Richmond, Virginia. After the war the U.S. Army bestowed the Medal of Honor on Walker. In 1917 she was stripped of the honor because she had not served in active combat; however Walker defiantly continued to wear the medal. The citation was restored to her posthumously in 1977. In this photo Walker poses in her modified Union Army uniform. Bowing to gender conventions, she wore a skirt over her Army trousers and kept her hair long.