<Tr> <Th> Spouse (s) </Th> <Td> Albert Miller </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Awards </Th> <Td> Medal of Honor </Td> </Tr> <P> Mary Edwards Walker (November 26, 1832--February 21, 1919) was an American abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war and surgeon . As of 2017, she is the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor . </P> <P> In 1855, she earned her medical degree at Syracuse Medical College in New York, married and started a medical practice . She volunteered with the Union Army at the outbreak of the American Civil War and served as a surgeon at a temporary hospital in Washington, DC, even though at the time women and sectarian physicians were considered unfit for the Union Army Examining Board . She was captured by Confederate forces after crossing enemy lines to treat wounded civilians and arrested as a spy . She was sent as a prisoner of war to Richmond, Virginia, until released in a prisoner exchange . </P>

Who was the first female medal of honor recipient