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Only Female Honored for Wartime Service With Nation's Highest Award
Thursday, March 8, 2001
Mary Edwards Walker, the Civil War-era physician-spy who is the only woman ever to win the Congressional Medal of Honor -- only to lose it over her controversial women's suffrage efforts -- is officially being honored as a New York "Woman of Distinction," Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno announced today.
The Oswego-born Walker is among three women inducted in the rolls of the Senate's Women of Distinction. The others honored include Belva Lockwood of Niagara County, whose battle to become the first woman admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court required a special act of Congress, and Winifred Edgarton Merrill, the first woman to receive a doctorate degree in mathematics.
Dr. Walker was sponsored for inclusion by Senator James W. Wright, whose district includes her birthplace. Senator George D. Maziarz sponsored Ms. Lockwood and Ms. Merrill was backed by Senator Roy M. Goodman.
The names and biographies of the three women will be added to a public exhibit featuring a total of 42 historic "Women of Distinction" displayed from March 12-16 in the Legislative Office Building in Albany.
"Dr. Walker's courage under fire, patriotism and dedication to the cause of equal rights inspired many of her contemporaries and won her the highest acclaim from a grateful nation," said Senator Bruno (R-C, Brunswick). "Her achievement and that of all of the 'Women of Distinction' should continue to inspire and challenge all of us toward a goal of inclusion and opportunity for all of our citizens."
Dr. Walker earned her medical degree from Syracuse Medical College and worked on the front lines during the Civil War, including at the famed battlefields at Bull Run and Chickamauga, Tenn., treating civilians and casualties alike. She was jailed for four months by the Confederacy on charges of being a Union spy.
She was presented the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Andrew Johnson in 1865, but was shortly stripped of the award in part over her outspoken efforts in support of women's right to vote. President Jimmy Carter restored the honor in 1977 and she remains the only woman to receive the nation's top honor for wartime service, notwithstanding the popular Meg Ryan movie, "Courage Under Fire," which is based on the premise that no woman has ever won the medal.
"A daughter of Upstate New York, Dr. Mary Walker's tenacity, bravery and courage are an example to all men and women, especially those who are committed to fighting against long odds for what is right," said Senator Wright (R-C, Watertown).
Winifred Edgerton Merrill
Born in Wisconsin, Ms. Merrill moved to New York City to pursue her education in mathematics and was awarded a Ph.D. with high honors from Columbia University in 1886, after first being turned down even for admission to the school. Later, she would be at the forefront of the movement to create Barnard College, the first secular institution to award women a liberal arts degree.
Her work included the first-ever computation of the orbit of the comet and contributed substantially to our understanding of astronomy.
"Winifred Merrill epitomizes the journey of so many who continue to come to New York in search of opportunity and achievement," said Senator Goodman (R-L, Manhattan). "Persisting despite repeated rejection, she raised our understanding of the universe and blazed new trails for women in academia and science."
Belva Lockwood
Born on a farm in Niagara County, Ms. Lockwood began to teach school at age 15 and became a single mother while still a teenager upon the death of her husband. Twenty years later, she decided to pursue a new career as a lawyer, and despite repeated rejections by the nation's top law schools due to her gender, was finally admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia.
Still, the Supreme Court denied her permission to practice in that court and she spent five years lobbying Congress for a special act to make her the first woman admitted to practice before the high court. She later joined the women's suffrage movement and ran for president on a women's rights platform.
"A simple farm girl by birth, Ms. Lockwood's grit and determination led her to do battle before the highest authorities in the land," said Senator Maziarz (R-C, No. Tonawanda). "Her memory continues to inspire that kind of dedication, grit and determination in generations of Western New Yorkers, and women throughout the world."
The Senate's "Women of Distinction" program was created in 1998 to honor great New York women. Past honorees include 19th Century suffragists and women accomplished in sciences, academics, business and the arts.
In addition to historic figures, the "Women of Distinction" program also honors present day women whose achievements merit them special recognition. These honorees are selected from nominations submitted from across the state and are the focus of a contemporary "Women of Distinction" display slated for May.
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