Feminist, abolitionist, prohibitionist, alleged spy, prisoner of war and surgeon, Mary is the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor.
When the Civil War broke out, she was quick to volunteer her services to the Union Army. She was denied a commission as a medical officer, but, volunteered anyway, first serving as a nurse, as the Army had no female surgeons. During this time, she primarily worked as an unpaid volunteer in the US Patent Office Hospital in Washington D.C. and served at the First Battle of Bull Run.
She then began working as an unpaid field surgeon near the Union front lines -- the first female surgeon in the US Army. In this capacity, she served near the Union front lines for almost two years, including the Battle of Fredericksburg and in the Battle of Chickamauga.
Finally, she was awarded a commission as a "Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon (civilian)" by the Army of the Cumberland in September, 1863. During this service, she frequently crossed battle lines, and on April 10, 1864 she was captured by Confederate troops and arrested as a spy. She was sent as a prisoner of war to Richmond, Virginia until released in a prisoner exchange on August 12, 1864. She went on to serve during the Battle of Atlanta.
On November 11, 1865, President Andrew Johnson signed a bill to present Dr. Mary Edwards Walker with the Congressional Medal of Honor, the United States military's highest decoration for bravery. She is the only woman to receive the medal and only one of eight civilians to receive it.
Know more:https://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_325.html
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-marywalker.html
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