About Dr. Mary E. Walker

A moralist and reformist for women's rights, Dr. Mary E. Walker blazed trails for women and served selflessly to aid Soldiers.  Her legacy continues through an award given to Army spouses who embody Walker's selfless service and devotion.  Born in 1832 in Oswego, New York, Walker graduated as a surgeon from Syracuse Medical School in 1855 as the only female in her class.  Always an independent woman, Walker wanted to be useful to the world.  At the outbreak of the Civil War, she applied for an appointment as an Army surgeon but was quickly rejected.  Because she was not allowed to join the Union Army, she volunteered her services as an assistant surgeon, devoting herself to the care and treatment of wounded and sick during the Civil War.  In November 1862 Walker presented herself at the Virginia headquarters of Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside and was taken on as a field surgeon, although still on a volunteer basis.  She treated the wounded at Warrenton and in Fredericksburg in December 1862; almost a year later she was in Chattanooga tending the casualties of the battle of Chickamauga.  After the battle she again requested a commission as an Army doctor.  In September 1863, Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas appointed her as an assistant surgeon in the Army of the Cumberland, and she was assigned to the 52nd Ohio Regiment, near Chattanooga, Tennessee, a position in which she served well, wearing a "somewhat modified version of the standard surgeon's uniform," her biography stated.  Walker served for four years on the battlefields of the Civil War, and spent four months as a prisoner of war in a Confederate war camp.  Because of her selfless service during the war, Walker became the only woman in U.S. history to receive the Medal of Honor, which was rescinded in 1917 and restored in 1977.  Following her war service, Walker remained active in women's rights.  Her penchant for wearing bloomers, the attire of radical feminists of her age, resulted in several arrests for charges such as impersonating a man.  To honor Walker, the Dr. Mary E. Walker Award was established in 1996 to honor Army spouses whose service merits special recognition for their work toward the betterment of life for Soldiers and their Families.  The award is a means of recognizing those who contribute significantly to the welfare of Soldiers and show concern for their Families.

For information concerning the Dr. Mary Walker award, please reference:  MEDCOM Regulation 215-1 (AKO Users)