End of the Civil War
In April of 1864, Confederate troops captured Walker as a spy and kept her as a prisoner. While she was under Confederate control, she assisted a surgeon in an amputation. Walker was not released until August of that year when the Union Army exchanged a Confederate surgeon they had captured for Walker. In November of 1865, President Andrew Johnson agreed to award Walker with the Medal of Honor. Two people had recommended Walker for the medal, George Thomas and William Sherman. With this medal, Walker became the first, and the only woman awarded the honor.
Activism
After the Civil War, Walker kept busy. For a while, she managed an orphanage in Tennessee. At one point, she was in Kentucky working as a supervisor for one of the state’s female prisons. Walker then furthered her time as an instructor and writer. During this time, Walker was passionate about women’s rights, health care, and dress reform. She was often arrested for her activism, but this did not dampen her spirit. During her later career, she wrote a couple of books where she discussed dress reform and women’s rights.
Walker further dove into women’s rights and became a member of Washington’s Central Women’s Suffrage unit. Of course, the medical profession was still a priority, so Walker went around fundraising for Harvard University’s medical program. Walker’s goal for this funding was to establish a position for a female professor. While Walker did try to vote in 1871 and was refused, this was not her focus in the women’s rights movement. Walker’s focus was more of gender roles and dress reform.
Medal of Honor Controversy
Two years before Walker passed away, the government took away her Medal of Honor. It was in 1917 when the United States Congress established a pension for all Medal of Honor recipients. Because of this, they had to separate Army and Navy recipients. While the Navy decided not to review any of their recipients, the Army did. In their review, they decided to delete over 900 of their recipients. They then sent letters to everyone on this list requesting them to send their medals back. Walker refused and continued to wear her badge until her dying day on February 21, 1919, after suffering from an illness.
Legacy
Sixty years after the Army board revoked Walker’s Medal of Honor status, President Jimmy Carter reinstated the Medal in 1977. He only restored it for Mary Walker and five other people. In 2000, Walker was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Walker’s legacy continues to live on, especially for women. Throughout her life, Walker pushed the boundaries of gender roles, dress reform, and women’s rights. She became successful in a mainly male profession and is still the only woman to have received a Medal of Honor from the United States Army.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“Meet Dr. Mary Walker: The only female Medal of Honor recipient.” Katie Lange, Army. March 2017.
“Mary Walker Biography.” Biography.com Editors, Biography. April 2014.