From: history.amedd.army.mil and health.mil
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 Major-Generals 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, President
(Medal rescinded 1917 along with 910 others, restored by President Carter 10 June 1977.)
Rank and organization: Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon (civilian), U. S. Army.
Places and dates: Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861; Patent Office Hospital, Washington, D.C., October 1861; Chattanooga, Tenn., following Battle of Chickamauga, September 1863; Prisoner of War, April 10, 1864-August 12, 1864, Richmond, Va.; Battle of Atlanta, September 1864.
Entered service at: Louisville, Ky.
Born: 26 November 1832, Oswego County, N.Y.
Date of Award: November 11, 1865
Conflict: Civil War
Branch: U.S. Army (civilian)
The Civil War broke out and Mary Walker was denied commission as a medical officer in the U.S. Army, so she volunteered despite the stigma of gender inequality. She became the first woman surgeon in the U.S. Army and served a few years as a field surgeon near the front lines of the Union. She was later appointed assistant surgeon of the 52nd Ohio Infantry.
Walker was often suspected to be a spy due to her frequent trips across Confederate lines to treat civilians, which led to her capture and imprisonment in Richmond for four months. Upon her release, Walker spent the rest of the war as a contract surgeon at a women’s prison in Louisville, Ky., and an orphan’s asylum in Tennessee.
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