Posted on Oct 26, 2015
Should Mary Edwards Walker, the only woman to receive the Medal Of Honor for Civil War actions, have returned the Medal?
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As a young woman, she taught at the school to earn enough money to pay her way through Syracuse Medical College, (the nation's first medical school and one which accepted women and men on an equal basis ) where she graduated as a medical doctor in 1855 as the only woman in her class. When war broke out, she came to Washington and tried to join the Union Army. Denied a commission as a medical officer, she volunteered anyway, and practiced as a nurse.
As an unpaid volunteer, she worked in the US Patent Office Hospital in Washington. Later, she worked as a field surgeon near the Union front lines for almost two years (including Fredericksburg and in Chattanooga after the Battle of Chickamauga). Finally, she was awarded a commission as a "Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon (civilian)" by the Army of the Cumberland in September 1863, becoming the first-ever female U.S. Army Surgeon.
“On April 10, 1864, dressed in full uniform, she accidentally walked into a group of Rebel soldiers just south of the Georgia-Tennessee border. Their commanding officer, General Daniel Harvey Hill, ordered her sent to Richmond as a prisoner. She was released in time to help during the battle for Atlanta as a surgeon in Louisville, Kentucky. Walker was greatly pleased that she had been traded "man for man," for a Confederate Officer.” On November 11, 1865, President Johnson signed a bill to present Dr. Mary Edwards Walker with the Congressional Medal of Honor for Meritorious Service, in order to recognize her contributions to the war effort without awarding her an army commission. She was the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor, her country's highest military award.
“In 1917 her Congressional Medal, along with the medals of 910 others was 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. A relative told the New York Times:
"Dr. Mary lost the medal simply because she was a hundred years ahead of her time and no one could stomach it." An Army board reinstated Walker's medal posthumously in 1977, citing her "distinguished gallantry, self-sacrifice, patriotism, dedication and unflinching loyalty to her country, despite the apparent discrimination because of her sex."
See more at: http://www.medalofhonornews.com/2011/02/1st-and-only-woman-medal-of-honor.html#sthash.ANvd2Agk.dpuf
As an unpaid volunteer, she worked in the US Patent Office Hospital in Washington. Later, she worked as a field surgeon near the Union front lines for almost two years (including Fredericksburg and in Chattanooga after the Battle of Chickamauga). Finally, she was awarded a commission as a "Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon (civilian)" by the Army of the Cumberland in September 1863, becoming the first-ever female U.S. Army Surgeon.
“On April 10, 1864, dressed in full uniform, she accidentally walked into a group of Rebel soldiers just south of the Georgia-Tennessee border. Their commanding officer, General Daniel Harvey Hill, ordered her sent to Richmond as a prisoner. She was released in time to help during the battle for Atlanta as a surgeon in Louisville, Kentucky. Walker was greatly pleased that she had been traded "man for man," for a Confederate Officer.” On November 11, 1865, President Johnson signed a bill to present Dr. Mary Edwards Walker with the Congressional Medal of Honor for Meritorious Service, in order to recognize her contributions to the war effort without awarding her an army commission. She was the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor, her country's highest military award.
“In 1917 her Congressional Medal, along with the medals of 910 others was 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. A relative told the New York Times:
"Dr. Mary lost the medal simply because she was a hundred years ahead of her time and no one could stomach it." An Army board reinstated Walker's medal posthumously in 1977, citing her "distinguished gallantry, self-sacrifice, patriotism, dedication and unflinching loyalty to her country, despite the apparent discrimination because of her sex."
See more at: http://www.medalofhonornews.com/2011/02/1st-and-only-woman-medal-of-honor.html#sthash.ANvd2Agk.dpuf
Medal of Honor
Women in the Military
Awards
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 6
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No, she shouldn't give it back. The rules were changed after she was awarded it; she was qualified when it was bestowed upon her and she deserved to keep it.
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Dr. Walker did the right thing by keeping the Medal Of Honor that was awarded to her. I am glad that the medal was reinstated in 1977.
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CPO Andy Carrillo, MS
Tough call... She was a civilian at the time and not technically eligible for the MOH (unless standards were different in that time).
When standards were revised so that the MOH was only awarded for actual combat and many medals were revoked, I don't necessarily agree with that decision. In many other cases where standards are changed, those who were affected under the old standards are "grandfathered" in. I think that should be the case for the majority of revoked MOH's. Notice I said majority, not all cases! I do recall hearing of an entire Army battalion that received the MOH simply for reenlisting. Their medals were rightly revoked.
So if civilians weren't to get the MOH, revoke it. If she was not a civilian, keep it but also restore medals to men who had theirs revoked for similar reasons.
Tough call... She was a civilian at the time and not technically eligible for the MOH (unless standards were different in that time).
When standards were revised so that the MOH was only awarded for actual combat and many medals were revoked, I don't necessarily agree with that decision. In many other cases where standards are changed, those who were affected under the old standards are "grandfathered" in. I think that should be the case for the majority of revoked MOH's. Notice I said majority, not all cases! I do recall hearing of an entire Army battalion that received the MOH simply for reenlisting. Their medals were rightly revoked.
So if civilians weren't to get the MOH, revoke it. If she was not a civilian, keep it but also restore medals to men who had theirs revoked for similar reasons.
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CPO Andy Carrillo, MS
CPT (Join to see) - I love that she refused to return the Medal and wore it openly in spite of having her name removed (and posthumously reinstated). Surviving the Civil War as a woman was no mean feat...
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CPT (Join to see)
CPO Andy Carrillo, MS Did you know that she went forward into enemy lines to treat the wounded, acted as a spy, and she was a POW.
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CPO Andy Carrillo, MS
Yes, and imprisoned at Castle Thunder: "Castle Thunder was filthy, overcrowded, disease-ridden and lacked adequate food and medical supplies for the prisoners who were held there. Executions of Confederate deserters took place in full view of the other prisoners and a notoriously brutal captain, George W. Alexander, patrolled the prison accompanied by his aggressive black dog, Nero, both of whom taunted and terrorized the prisoners.
Other famous prisoners included two cousins, Mary and Mollie Bell. The Bells were secret soldiers who had disguised themselves as men in order to fight for the Confederacy. They fought for two years under the command of General Jubal A. Early, and took part in a number of key battles, including the Battle of Chancellorsville and the Battle of Gettysburg, before they were discovered.
When authorities learned that they were women, the Bells were sent to Castle Thunder in October of 1864 and held for three weeks. With no official crime to charge them with, prison officials finally released the cousins and sent them home to Pulaski County, Virginia."
Other famous prisoners included two cousins, Mary and Mollie Bell. The Bells were secret soldiers who had disguised themselves as men in order to fight for the Confederacy. They fought for two years under the command of General Jubal A. Early, and took part in a number of key battles, including the Battle of Chancellorsville and the Battle of Gettysburg, before they were discovered.
When authorities learned that they were women, the Bells were sent to Castle Thunder in October of 1864 and held for three weeks. With no official crime to charge them with, prison officials finally released the cousins and sent them home to Pulaski County, Virginia."
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She should have absolutely not been obligated to surrender her CMH. The standard was different in 1865, and she earned it. That President Johnson saw fit to award it should have been enough. Honor can't be taken away, it can only be surrendered.
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Women who donned men's clothing to fight in the Civil War were in danger of being captured and thrown in prison in very close quarters with hundreds of men.
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