True Life Tuesday: Mary Edwards Walker

Mary Edwards Walker was a pioneer who I do not feel has been talked about enough. She has the distinction of being the only woman to receive the Presidential Medal of Honor.

She was born on November 26, 1832 in Otswego, New York. Her parents, Alvah and Vesta Whitcomb Walker, we abolitionists. They were also well ahead of their time. They encouraged Mary and her sisters to wear "bloomer pants" instead of the more common skirts and corsets. Her parents wanted to make sure that their daughters received the same education as their son so they opened the first free school in Otswego. Mary then attended Falley Seminary in Fulton, New Yrok along with two of her older sisters. After she graduated from the seminary she worked as a teacher in Minetto, New York while saving money to attend medical school. She received her medical degree from Syracuse Medical College in 1855, the 2nd woman to do so. 

On November 16, 1855 she married fellow medical student Albert Miller. The started a practice ion Rome, New York but it failed because patients did not want to see a female doctor. In 1861 she tried to join the military as a medical officer in the Civil War but she was denied because she was a woman. She did serve as a unpaid volunteer at the US Patent Office Hospital in Washington, D.C. She was only allowed to work as a nurse because she was a woman. While there she formed the Women's Relief Organization to assist the families of wounded soldiers at the hospital. 

In 1862 she moved to Virginia to assist wounded soldiers near the front lines. Then in 1863 she became the first female US Army surgeon. She was captured by confederate soldiers as a spy in April 1864 and was held as a prisoner of war for 4 months. This was the basis for her receiving the Presidential Medal of Honor.

After the war she worked as a women's rights advocate. She was arrested in 1870 in New Orleans for dressing like a man. She attempted to register to vote in 1871 but was denied. She ran for the US Senate in 1881 and for Congress in 1890 but lost both elections. However, she was invited to testify in front of Congress on the subject of women's suffrage. 

In 1916 her medal was taken away from her because it was stated that she was not eligible to receive it. However, she would wear it until she died in 1919. Eventually President Jimmy Carter reinstated the medal to her.