Dr. Mary Edwards Walker

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was a pioneering American surgeon, abolitionist, and feminist activist. She is renowned as the first female surgeon to serve in the United States Army during the American Civil War and remains the only woman to have received the Medal of Honor. A lifelong advocate for women's suffrage and dress reform, her unconventional life and steadfast principles challenged the rigid gender norms of Victorian America.

Early life and education

Born in Oswego, New York, she was the youngest daughter of Alvah Walker and Vesta Whitcomb Walker, who encouraged their children's education and independent thinking. Her parents were progressive abolitionists, and their farm served as a station on the Underground Railroad. Rejecting the restrictive corsets and voluminous skirts of the era, she adopted a precursor to bloomers early on, a practice she would champion throughout her life. She initially worked as a teacher to fund her medical education before graduating with a Doctor of Medicine degree from Syracuse Medical College in 1855, one of the few institutions that admitted women at the time.

Medical career and Civil War service

After graduation, she established a private practice in Rome, New York with her husband, fellow physician Albert Miller, though the practice struggled due to public prejudice against female doctors. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, she volunteered her services to the Union Army but was initially rejected for a commissioned position, serving instead as an unpaid volunteer surgeon at the Patent Office Hospital in Washington, D.C.. She later worked as a field surgeon near the front lines at battles such as Bull Run and Fredericksburg, and in 1863, she was finally appointed as a contract acting assistant surgeon for the 52nd Ohio Infantry. In 1864, she was captured by Confederate forces and held as a prisoner of war for four months at Castle Thunder in Richmond, Virginia before being released in a prisoner exchange.

Activism and later life

Following the war, she became a prolific writer and lecturer, advocating fiercely for women's rights, dress reform, and health care reform. She was a member of the central committee of the National Woman Suffrage Association and often wore full men's clothing, including a top hat, attracting both admiration and notoriety. She authored two books, *Hit* and *Unmasked, or the Science of Immorality*, which critiqued societal hypocrisy regarding marriage and sexuality. Her activism extended to temperance and running for political office, including a symbolic candidacy for the United States Senate in 1881. She continued practicing medicine and lecturing until her death at her family home in Oswego, New York.

Awards and legacy

In November 1865, President Andrew Johnson awarded her the Medal of Honor upon the recommendation of Gens. William Tecumseh Sherman and George Henry Thomas, for her medical services during the war, with her citation noting she "devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded soldiers." In 1917, following a congressional review, her medal, along with 910 others, was rescinded as she was a civilian contract surgeon and had not engaged in direct combat. She refused to return the medal and wore it until her death. Decades later, after a campaign led by her family and supporters, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records reinstated her award in 1977, affirming her "distinguished gallantry." Today, her legacy is honored through numerous institutions, including the VA medical center in Oswego named for her, and the Dr. Mary E. Walker Award is presented by the New York State Senate. Her Medal of Honor is displayed at the Pentagon.

Category:American surgeons Category:American Civil War surgeons Category:Medal of Honor recipients Category:American feminists Category:People from Oswego, New York