Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919) was a feminist, suffragist, spy, prisoner of war and surgeon. She was a nonconformist, who became the only woman in history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919) was a feminist, suffragist, spy, prisoner of war and surgeon. She was a nonconformist, who became the only woman in history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. This is Womanica.
This month, we're highlighting women who worked in health and wellness.
Today we’re talking about a woman who held many titles: feminist, suffragist, spy, prisoner of war and surgeon. She was a nonconformist, who became the only woman in history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. We’re talking about Dr. Mary Edwards Walker.
Mary was born on November 26, 1832. She was raised on a farm in Oswego, New York along with her six siblings. Her parents were free thinkers and encouraged their children to question everything. Mary, in turn, marched to the beat of her own drum.
From a young age, she pushed back against traditional feminine dress. She found women’s clothing to be restricting and unconformable. So Mary opted for trousers instead of the traditional long skirts, corsets and petticoats.
She grew up in a household that believed in gender equality. Her parents founded their own school so their daughters could receive an education. After high school, Mary had dreams of becoming a doctor. She worked as a schoolteacher for two years, saving the money she needed to attend medical school. In 1855, she graduated from Syracuse Medical College with honors.
After medical school, she married a fellow student named Albert Miller. Keeping with her nonconformist spirit, she elected to keep her own last name and wore trousers with a short skirt instead of the traditional long wedding dress. She also edited her vows, refusing to promise to obey her husband.
As newlyweds, Mary and Albert set up a private practice together in Rome, New York. The practice struggled likely because Mary was not accepted as a doctor. Mary and Albert’s marriage also didn’t last; Mary left after learning he had been unfaithful.
At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Mary headed to Washington to join the Union Army. She was opposed to slavery and planned to join up as a surgeon. To her dismay, the Surgeon General denied her the role of medical officer. They offered her a role as a nurse, which she declined. Instead, she volunteered as an unpaid field surgeon near the front lines in Chattanooga and Fredericksburg. Once again, Mary wore men’s clothing. Trousers allowed her to move more easily.
Other surgeons in the military seemed to disapprove of a woman as a surgeon. Nevertheless, she proved herself and in 1863, Mary became the first female U.S. Army surgeon.
While serving as an assistant surgeon with the 52nd Ohio Infantry, she crossed enemy lines and was detained by Confederates for espionage. It’s hard to know why she crossed the lines. Some sources say she was just treating civilians, while others believe she was in fact spying. Either way, she spent four months in Castle Thunder Prison, and refused to wear feminine clothing while she was held captive. She was freed in a prisoner exchange and served the rest of the war as a surgeon in a women’s military prison in Clarksville, Tennessee.
After the war was over, President Andrew Johnson signed a bill on November 11, 1865 to present Mary with the Medal of Honor for Meritorious Service. It’s the United States Military's highest and most prestigious military decoration. She became the first woman to receive the award and wore it proudly the rest of her life.
Following her service, Mary shifted her efforts to campaigning for women’s rights. She formally advocated for dress reform, and even designed her own garment as a solution to what she called “cruel corsets, tight garters and other underpinnings.” She was arrested multiple times for wearing her signature outfit: trousers, a vest, coat and top hat. In response to her critics, she simply said, “I don’t wear men’s clothes, I wear my own clothes.”
Mary was also an early advocate for women’s suffrage. She banded together with five other women and tried to register to vote in 1871. As expected, they were unsuccessful. It would be nearly 50 years before the first round of American women could vote. Mary never got to cast a ballot.
Two years before Mary’s death, in 1917, her Medal of Honor was stripped from her on the grounds that medals that weren’t earned from actual combat should be revoked. She was outraged. But she continued to wear the medal anyway, proudly on her chest.
On February 21, 1919 Mary passed away. She was buried in her hometown in New York, dressed in a black suit.
In 1977, almost sixty years after her death, President Jimmy Carter posthumously restored Mary’s Medal of Honor, which sits on display in the Pentagon. She remains the only woman in history to receive the award.
All month, we’re highlighting women in health and wellness.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!