Medical

“Let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom.” – Mary Edwards Walker

Mary Edwards Walker was the first and only female Medal of Honor winner. She was a Surgeon and also fought for women’s rights. Walker was born the 5th daughter to abolitionists Albany and Besta Whitcomb on November 26th, 1832 in Oswego, NewYork. Her parents encouraged her to speak freely, wear pants, and even created a free school so their daughters could get an education. She became a teacher after she finished school, but only so she could save enough money to go to medical school. In 1855, she graduated from Syracuse Medical College being only the second woman to graduate from said college.

Walker wanted to be an army surgeon during the Civil War to back up the Union, but she was not allowed because she was a woman. There were no female surgeons at that time so she was only allowed to serve as a nurse in temporary hospitals that were scattered around the capitol. In 1692, she was allowed to start treating soldiers on the front lines, and in 1862, she was finally allowed to practice as a surgeon. She would often even cross battlefields to care for injured soldiers and civilians. In 1864 she was captured by the confederacy because they believed she was a spy, even during her imprisonment she refused to wear pants; she had only worn men’s clothes since she was a child and found them to be more hygienic. After she was released she served at the Louisville Women’s Prison Hospital and an orphan asylum in Clarksville, Tennessee. In 1865, Edward was awarded the Medal of honor, she was never given a military pension though, as she was never officially commissioned into the army.