“My Mom at Green River Lakes” - Green River Lakes, Wind River Range, WY.

“Mom and Bart in the Cabin” - Green River  Lakes, Wind River Range, WY.

“You must come to terms with the reality that nothing outside ourselves, be it people or things is actually responsible for our happiness.” — Mary Edwards Walker.

Today, I will talk about the excellent Mary Edwards Walker, born November 26, 1832, in Oswego, NY, and passed on February 21, 1919, also in Oswego. She was an American abolitionist, prisoner of war, surgeon, and the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor!!!!!

She grew up in a very progressive household, which was unheard of then. They had their children sharing all aspects of the household chores - so the mother would often do the heavy labor while the father partook in the general household chores (as did the children). Mary didn’t wear women’s clothing while working. Her mother agreed that corsets & tight lacings were not healthy. 

Her parents founded the first free schoolhouse in Oswego for both boys & girls. Mary taught at a school in Minetto & saved enough money to go to Syracuse Medical College, where she graduated with honors as a medical doctor in 1855 (the only woman in her class). She married Albert Miller on November 16, 1855 - she wore a short skirt with pants underneath, refused to put “obey” in her vows, & kept her last name. They were doctors & set up a joint practice in Rome, NY. Unfortunately, her husband was not faithful, so they divorced.

She volunteered as a surgeon during the American Civil War - but was rejected because she was a woman (even though she had a private practice). So, first, she was only allowed to be a nurse. She served at the First Battle of Bull Run. She also worked as an unpaid field surgeon near the Union front lines. She was a suffragist, so she was excited to see women as soldiers, including Frances Hook (who disguised herself as a man). Mary was the first female surgeon in the Union Army. She eventually was appointed assistant surgeon of the 52nd Ohio Infantry. She crossed battle lines & treated civilians as well. 

April 10, 1864- the Confederate troops captured her, & she was arrested as a spy (where she was in the middle of helping perform an amputation with a Confederate doctor). She was held at Castle Thunder in Richmond, VA, until August 12, 1864 - released as part of a prisoner exchange. She refused to wear the clothes the Confederates gave her. She eventually became a supervisor at a female prison & the head of an orphanage in Tennessee. 

She was given a disability pension for partial muscular atrophy when she was imprisoned. Sadly, on February 21, 1919, she died one year before the US government passed the 19th Amendment. 

Awards: Presidential Medal of Honor, inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000. SS Mary Walker (a Liberty ship in WWII) was named for her. In addition, the medical facilities at SUNY Oswego are named after her. 

Sources: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Edwards_Walker and https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-edwards-walker

Photos: 1. “My mom at Green River Lakes” & 2. “Mom and Bart in the Cabin”- For my mom’s (@jeanranee) birthday, one of the places she has always wanted to go to from my travels was Green River Lakes in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Somehow, I saw an opening close to her birthday this year at their incredible lodge/cabin, and we got the cabin for 5 days! It was a fantastic experience, and I am very grateful for it. It was one of Bart’s (@bartsbarkventures) favorite places to go to, too, and I’m so thankful I got to take him there one more time before he passed. October 2024. Arapaho & Shoshone Ancestral Homeland. Nikon D850. I used Lightroom to make the panoramas.