Women in the Military

An American feminist, suffragist, suspected spy, prisoner of war and surgeon, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker remains the only women ever to receive the Medal of Honor, which she was awarded for her service during the Civil War.

Cathay Williams became the first African American woman to enlist in the U.S. Army; she posed as a man, enlisting under the pseudonym William Cathay.

Tyonajanegen, or "Two Kettles Together," was fierce woman who accompanied her husband, other Oneida warriors, and American militias fighting in the American Revolution.

Anna Etheridge, one of the Civil War's only two female Kearny Cross recipients, is proof that women of the era could be just as brave as men in places of battle.

Sarah was a bright and strong woman who helped her husband and his fellow Continental soldiers achieve victory at Jamestown by feeding them when they were going hungry. She encountered George Washington himself, and won a military pension late in life for her efforts and support during the American Revolution.

Wendy McNiel grew up in Wyoming and attended the University of Wyoming where she joined the ROTC program. After completing college, she joined the Air Force. She was assigned to the 44th Strategic Missile Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base from February 1991 to December 1992. She worked in the 67th Strategic Missile Squadron as a missileer. She eventually became an instructor training missileers.

Linda Aldrich was one of the first female missileers to serve on a combat crew for the Minuteman Missile program in the late 1980s.

Mary Young Pickersgill was the Betsy Ross of the War of 1812 generation: a gifted seamstress who carved a place for herself in history as the maker of one of America’s great icons.

Although women were barred from military service during the Civil War, Sarah Edmonds didn't let that stop her.