Events

Theresa Kaminski, PhD is professor emerita of history from UWSP. Dr. Mary Edwards Walker always wanted to be somebody. During the 19th century, that was an unusual ambition for a woman. But Walker was an unusual woman. She wore trousers, graduated from medical school, and in 1861 offered her services to the United States Army. Four years later, President Andrew Johnson awarded Dr. Walker the Medal of Honor for her incomparable medical service rendered during the Civil War. She remains the only woman to receive that recognition. After the war, Mary Walker dedicated her life to the women’s suffrage movement, frequently clashing with its established leadership over ideology and tactics.