Mary Edwards Walker: Above and Beyond
Giselle Roberts · Civil War Book Review · 2006
A Life of Service Defying Convention and Attaining the Medal of HonourPerhaps the most frustrating problem facing any historian is finding an interesting story that deserves to be told, yet lacks the necessary primary material to tell it fully.In his new book, Mary Edwards Walker: Above and Beyond, Dale Walker uses diary fragments, editorials, army records and newspaper clippings to piece together the life story of one woman who defied convention to become a Civil War physician and recipient of the United States Medal of Honor.Born on November 26, 1832, in the town of Oswego, New York, Mary Edwards Walker was the fifth child of Alvah Walker and Vesta Whitcomb Walker.Alvah owned a mechanic's shop, and with Vesta, operated a rambling 33 acre farm off Bunker Hill Road.What the family lacked financially, Dale Walker notes, they made up for intellectually.Alvah adhered to a strong moral code--the family's Bunker Hill property served as a station on the famous Underground Railroad--and was a self taught country doctor.As a young girl, Mary spent hours in her father's medical library and nurtured a dream of becoming a physician.After a stint as a schoolteacher in the nearby village of Minetto, Mary gained admission to Syracuse Medical College in 1852, where she graduated in June 1855 as the only female member of her class.Fully qualified and ready to embark on her medical career, Mary faced a hostile mid 19th century world that remained dubious of the merits of female practitioners.This scepticism was compounded by Mary's physical appearance.Clad in a swallowtail coat over trousers, a boiled white shirt and stiff collar, necktie, waistcoat (with watch chain across the front), and a silver topper, (58) Dr. Walker alienated her mainstream clientele by speaking out against the ailments produced by wearing unhygienic Dress.From the crown of the head to 1