Autumn Leaf

 

Doctor M. Edwards Walker, M.D. was born in Oswego, New York in 1832. After receiving a medical degree in Syracuse Medical College, Dr. Walker served as a surgeon at a temporary hospital in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of the American Civil War. Subsequently, Dr. Walker was hired by Union Forces and assigned to the Army of the Cumberland and later the 52nd Ohio Infantry. Dr. Walker was an abolitionist, a prohibitionist, a suffragist, a prisoner of war, and a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the United States government's highest and most prestigious military decoration. And she was a woman. Doctor Mary Edwards Walker was the first female surgeon in the U.S. Army and the only female Medal of Honor recipient. She grew up in a very progressive home, with parents who encouraged all their children to help with farm work and housework, and to get a good education.