LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the dedication of the statue of Dr.
Mary Edwards Walker on May 12, 2012

WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the people of the State of New York to
recognize and acknowledge those within our midst who have made signif-
icant contributions to the quality of life therein; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the dedication of the statue of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, to be
celebrated on Saturday, May 12, 2012, at the Oswego Town Hall in Oswego,
New York; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, one of the nation's 1.8 million
women veterans, was the only one to earn the Congressional Medal of
Honor, for her service during the Civil War; and
WHEREAS, Born on November 26, 1832, into an abolitionist family, Mary
Edwards Walker was surrounded by controversy throughout her life; and
WHEREAS, Her father, a country doctor, was a free thinking participant
in many of the reform movements that thrived in upstate New York in the
mid 1800s; he believed strongly in education and equality for his five
daughters; and
WHEREAS, Early on, Mary Edwards Walker became an enthusiast for
Women's Rights, and passionately espoused the issue of dress reform; and
WHEREAS, In June of 1855, Mary Edwards Walker, the only woman in her
class, joined the tiny number of women doctors in the nation when she
graduated from the eclectic Syracuse Medical College, the nation's first
medical school, and one which accepted women and men on an equal basis;
and
WHEREAS, When war broke out, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker came to Washing-
ton and tried to join the Union Army; and
WHEREAS, Denied a commission as a medical officer, Dr. Mary Edwards
Walker volunteered anyway, serving as an acting assistant surgeon and
becoming the first female surgeon in the United States Army; and
WHEREAS, As an unpaid volunteer, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker worked in the
United States Patent Office Hospital in Washington; and
WHEREAS, Later, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker worked as a field surgeon near
the Union front lines for almost two years including Fredericksburg and
in Chattanooga after the Battle of Chickamauga; and
WHEREAS, In September of 1863, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was finally
appointed assistant surgeon in the Army of the Cumberland; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was then appointed assistant surgeon
of the 52nd Ohio Infantry; during this assignment she continually
crossed Confederate lines to treat civilians; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was taken prisoner in 1864, by
Confederate troops and imprisoned in Richmond for four months until she
was exchanged, with two dozen other Union doctors, for 17 Confederate
surgeons; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was released back to the 52nd Ohio as
a contract surgeon, but spent the rest of the war practicing at a Louis-
ville female prison and an orphan's asylum in Tennessee; and
WHEREAS, On November 11, 1865, President Andrew Johnson signed a bill
to present Dr. Mary Edwards Walker with the Congressional Medal of Honor
for Meritorious Service; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was the only woman ever to receive
the Medal of Honor, her country's highest military award; and
WHEREAS, In 1917, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker's Congressional Medal, along
with the medals of 910 others were taken away when Congress revised the
Medal of Honor standards to include only "actual combat with an enemy";

she refused to give back her Medal of Honor, wearing it every day until
her death in 1919; and
WHEREAS, An Army board reinstated Dr. Mary Edwards Walker's medal
posthumously in 1977, citing her "distinguished gallantry, self-sacrif-
ice, patriotism, dedication and unflinching loyalty to her country; and
WHEREAS, After the war, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker became a writer and
lecturer, touring throughout the United States and abroad on women's
rights, dress reform, health and temperance issues; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was elected president of the National
Dress Reform Association in 1866; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker wrote extensively, including a book
called HIT, a combination autobiography and commentary on divorce in
1871, and a second book, UNMASKED, OR THE SCIENCE OF IMMORTALITY, about
infidelity in 1878; and
WHEREAS, In 1872, in Oswego, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker attempted to
vote, one of many women who made the attempt over the years on the road
to full suffrage; and
WHEREAS, In 1890, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker declared herself a candidate
for Congress in Oswego; the following year, she campaigned for a U.S.
Senate seat and, the next year, paid her way to the Democratic National
Convention; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker died in the Town of Oswego on Febru-
ary 21, 1919; ironically, the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to
vote was ratified that same year; and
WHEREAS, Those individuals, who have given so selflessly of their
skills and dedication, are worthy and due full recognition for their
valued contributions on behalf of their country and its ideals, uphold-
ing patriotic character and principled ideals in service to their
fellowman; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the dedication of the statue of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker on
May 12, 2012; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the Town of Oswego Historical Society.