When and where was Mary Edwards Walker born?
Mary Edwards Walker was born on the 26th of November 1832 in the Town of Oswego, New York. Her parents Alvah and Vesta raised their children with a revolutionary mindset for that era.
Mary Edwards Walker was born on the 26th of November 1832 in the Town of Oswego, New York. Her parents Alvah and Vesta raised their children with a revolutionary mindset for that era.
President Andrew Johnson personally awarded Walker the Medal of Honor after the war ended to recognize her efforts to treat the wounded across enemy lines during the conflict. It was the only military decoration given to a civilian during the Civil War.
Confederate troops captured Mary Edwards Walker on the 10th of April 1864 after she finished helping a doctor perform an amputation. She was arrested as a spy and sent to Castle Thunder prison in Richmond Virginia until released on the 12th of August 1864 in a prisoner exchange.
By 1861 Mary Edwards Walker wore trousers with suspenders under a knee-length dress instead of restrictive corsets or long skirts. She considered traditional women's clothing unhealthy and dangerous to her body throughout her life.
Mary Edwards Walker's name was restored in 1977 through bureaucratic channels involving the Board for Correction of Military Records. Her name had been struck from the Army roll in 1917 because authorities deemed her ineligible as a civilian contract surgeon not a commissioned officer.
Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia was officially renamed Fort Walker in August 2023 making Mary Edwards Walker the first woman honored this way. The renaming recognizes her legacy alongside other tributes like the American Women quarter released in 2024 depicting her holding pocket surgical kits and medals.