1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: I'm to blame a chalk reboarding and I'm fair at out. 4 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 1: And last summer we took a stab at covering one specific, 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: perhaps lesser known aspect of the Civil War, and that 6 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: was Civil War Spies, and we had so much fun 7 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: doing this little mini series, as we like to call it, 8 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: that we decided to take a similar approach with a 9 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:34,199 Speaker 1: different topic involving the Civil War. And now, before you 10 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: get too excited or up in arms, that's not to 11 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: say that we'll never cover any of the army campaigns, 12 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: battles or raids that took place. It is the one 13 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: fiftieth anniversary of the Civil War, after all, so that's coming. 14 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: But for now we're enjoying focusing on those facets of 15 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: the war that maybe didn't receive as much press as 16 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: the battles, and little issues like who won and who lost, 17 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: like that sort of thing. And the one we want 18 00:00:58,040 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: to look at right now is the world of Civil 19 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 1: War medicine, and it kind of dovetails nicely into the 20 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: discussion we did earlier this year of David McCullough's latest book, 21 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: The Greater Journey, which includes stories of some Americans of 22 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,559 Speaker 1: the era that we're studying medicine in Paris. Yeah, and 23 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: in fact, many of the unsung heroes of the Civil 24 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: War battlefront weren't soldiers at all. They were doctors, their nurses, 25 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,199 Speaker 1: and volunteers who still managed to save thousands of lives 26 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: although they were working in really, really horrible conditions with 27 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: what we would now consider primitive equipment, and maybe even 28 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: at the time they considered to be kind of yeah, 29 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 1: not not what you'd have in the hospital for sure, 30 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,400 Speaker 1: But even though they may not have started out with 31 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,040 Speaker 1: many during the course of the war, both the Federal 32 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: Army and the Confederacy did employ thousands of surgeons and 33 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: assistant surgeons. So we do have a lot of people 34 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: to choose from if we decide to pursue this little 35 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: mini series a bit. And according to the National Museum 36 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 1: of Civil War Medicine, all of these doctors were officers. 37 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: Surgeons were the equivalent to a major, and assistant surgeons 38 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: were equivalent to a captain. So from that you can 39 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:11,080 Speaker 1: surmise if most or all of these surgeons were officers, 40 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: that they were also all men. Yeah, but that may 41 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 1: surprise some people because there were a handful of women 42 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: in the United States who had received medical degrees from 43 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:23,080 Speaker 1: US institutions by that time, but women hadn't been allowed 44 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: to practice medicine in much of the world basically since 45 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: the Renaissance, and the tide was just turning. It was 46 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:30,920 Speaker 1: just beginning to turn on that still, whether you had 47 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: an MD or not. If you were a woman, the 48 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: most you could do in the world of Civil War 49 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 1: medicine is work as a nurse or a volunteer. But 50 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: one woman, Dr Mary Edwards Walker, managed to overcome the 51 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: obstacles and is said to have been the only woman 52 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: surgeon who was formally engaged for field duty during the 53 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: Civil War. She worked for the Union side, and she 54 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: ended up winning a Medal of Honor for her efforts, 55 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 1: though there was some controversy surrounding that too, So we're 56 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: gonna take a look at how she pulled this off, 57 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:00,920 Speaker 1: as well as some of the more prevalent rumors about her, 58 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 1: For example, did she really dress like a man and 59 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: was she really a Union spy? It always has to 60 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: come back to those spies. This is secretly an extension 61 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: of the spy series. But first we're gonna look at 62 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: how Mary Edwards Walker got her start. It was unusual 63 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: during her time for women to go to a medical school, 64 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: of course, but Mary Edwards Walker grew up in a 65 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: kind of unusual family. She was born November thirty two 66 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: in oswe Go in upstate New York, and her father, 67 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: a man named Alva, had a farm nearby. She was 68 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: the fifth daughter of Alva and his wife Vesta. But 69 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: Walker's parents were quite progressive and they really encouraged their 70 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: children to pursue an education and even ran a school 71 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: that the kids attended to make sure they got educations. So, 72 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: like her sisters, Walker went into teaching for a short 73 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: time after finishing up her studies, but she had ambitions 74 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:01,360 Speaker 1: to do more, and that to go on and get 75 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: a medical degree, and her father encouraged that. So she 76 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: was able to enroll at Syracuse Medical College, which was 77 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: considered kind of a non traditional school it treated men 78 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: and women more equally, and enrolled there at age twenty one, 79 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 1: so she's off to a start. She graduated in eighteen 80 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: fifty five, and she was the only woman there to 81 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 1: be awarded a medical degree. Having that degree though didn't 82 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: automatically translate to a successful career in medicine. Getting people 83 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: to take her seriously as a doctor was pretty tough. 84 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: Building a career was probably tough for any female doctor 85 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: at that time, we should say that. But one thing 86 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: in particular made it even harder for Walker to fit in, 87 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:41,839 Speaker 1: and that was her appearance. You see, from a young age, 88 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: Walker was a supporter of dress reform definitely by the 89 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,599 Speaker 1: time she graduated, she was vocal about it at least, 90 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 1: and she, like several other reform minded people, thought nineteenth 91 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: century women's clothing was unhealthy, with dirt gathering, long skirts 92 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 1: and stiff petticoats and corsets that made it tough for 93 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: women to breathe, kind of dangerous to a fire hazard, 94 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: could get caught in things, many problems, yep. So instead, 95 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,800 Speaker 1: Walker wore what became known as the Bloomer dress, and 96 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: it was known as this because it was worn and 97 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: championed by the feminist Amelia Jenkins Bloomer. And this outfit 98 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: consisted of trousers that had full, billowing pant legs that 99 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 1: tapered around the ankles, and a skirt that was shortened 100 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: to about four inches below the knee. Sometimes you see 101 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: that the skirt was at the knee, so but somewhere 102 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: around there. And Walker argued that this was not only healthier, 103 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: it was quote a convenience to her business. So in 104 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:35,279 Speaker 1: other words, it made it easier to work. Yeah, move around. 105 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: We actually talked kind of about a similar costume in 106 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 1: the Oneida episode. It wasn't true bloomers, but little short pantaloons, 107 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: and they'd wear um shorter knee length or midcalf skirts 108 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 1: to just make it easier to do all the work 109 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:50,320 Speaker 1: that you had to do if you were living on 110 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: the Aneida commune. But this outfit, these bloomers, it didn't 111 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: really help Walker get any work. People ridiculed her, and 112 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: she tried for a few months to set up practice 113 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,680 Speaker 1: in Columbus, Ohio, but it was not successful. So she 114 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: established another practice in Rome, New York, and she got 115 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:12,360 Speaker 1: married to a fellow physician named Albert Miller, and they 116 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 1: did as many married doctor couples do now it seems 117 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,719 Speaker 1: they shared a practice, although that was also unsuccessful, and 118 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: she didn't take his name, which was another sort of 119 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: twist she had on common conventions of the time. She 120 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,839 Speaker 1: also had the word obey omitted from her wedding vows, 121 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:34,560 Speaker 1: but by eighteen fifty nine, Miller had separated from Walker 122 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 1: and they divorced ten years later. When the war broke out, 123 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 1: Walker wanted to help out the Union cause, and so 124 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:44,279 Speaker 1: she went to Washington. She knew that the army would 125 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 1: be in need of skilled surgeons, and she hoped that it, 126 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: being a time of war and all, a woman doctor 127 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: might actually stand a chance. She was completely wrong there. 128 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 1: The Army turned her down, that they wouldn't give her 129 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: an appointment as a physician. Walker stayed on in d 130 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: C anyway, though, working as a volunteer nurse at a 131 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,599 Speaker 1: hospital there, and she helped to organize a women's relief association, 132 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: which I think was a place where women seeking loved 133 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: ones could stay while she kept trying for an army appointment. 134 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 1: In eighteen sixty two, she had to leave d C 135 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: for a while, though, and she earned a degree from 136 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: the New York Hyggeotherapeutic College in New York City during 137 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: that time. She did return her attention to the war 138 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: later that year, though, and ended up traveling independently to 139 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 1: Virginia to lend a hand in the field. First to 140 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: the army of the Potomac and their encampment in Warrenton, 141 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: Virginia and then to Fredericksburg. They had a huge need 142 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: for medical personnel, and Walker arrived actually in the middle 143 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: of a typhoid epidemic, just to give you an idea 144 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: of how bad off they were. So she was allowed 145 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: at this time to treat soldiers, but again on a 146 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 1: volunteer basis. She was not paid for her work. They 147 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 1: gave her rations an attent. But Walker really was finally 148 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: right there in the thick of it, with a very 149 00:07:55,720 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: few supplies, helping care for survivors after battle. She treated wounds, 150 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: and she said to have tried to avoid amputation whenever possible, 151 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 1: and she also helped treat a number of camp diseases, 152 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: to which, of course, disease was the biggest killer in 153 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: the Civil War, wasn't it. Yeah, I think that may 154 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: be the case. So Walker was getting to use her 155 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 1: skills and make a difference. She was saving lives, but 156 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: she still really wanted that Army appointment. She continued to 157 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: lobby for that. So eventually, after working for so long 158 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: in the field, she managed to make a name for 159 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 1: herself and in eighteen sixty three, around the end of 160 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty three beginning of eighteen sixty four, she finally 161 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 1: did receive an appointment as a civilian contract surgeon to 162 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: the fifty second Ohio Volunteers. Since she was a civilian, though, 163 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:45,600 Speaker 1: she had to undergo a medical competency exam and that 164 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:48,679 Speaker 1: did not go so well. No, the examination board was, 165 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,320 Speaker 1: of course made up of all men, and they kind 166 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:53,680 Speaker 1: of seemed to be biased against her right from the beginning. 167 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: According to an article by John Bloomer in American History, 168 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: one of them described her as quote medical monstrosity, dressed 169 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: in a quote hybrid costume, and said that she quote 170 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: had no more medical knowledge than an ordinary housewife and 171 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: was entirely unfit for the position of medical officer. Pretty 172 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: harsh words there. But Walker didn't feel that she had 173 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:22,600 Speaker 1: been fairly treated during this examination. She later said, quote 174 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: I felt that the examination was intended to be a farce, 175 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,640 Speaker 1: and more than half the time was consumed in questions 176 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:33,440 Speaker 1: regarding subjects that were exclusively feminine and had no sort 177 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:37,719 Speaker 1: of relation to the diseases and wounds of soldiers. So 178 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 1: Walker failed the examination, as you might guess, and was 179 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 1: declared incompetent, but Interestingly enough, their judgment did not stick. 180 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: Who knows why, maybe because those who supported her new 181 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: her actual abilities, But regardless, she got to keep her 182 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: post and join the fifty second Ohio Regiment near Chattanooga, Tennessee. 183 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: Her contract paid eighty dollars a month, so it seems 184 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: like she's doing well at this point, But it's winter 185 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:05,559 Speaker 1: when she takes her post, and in addition to treating 186 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 1: soldiers and even some local civilians, she spends a lot 187 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 1: of her time writing beyond Union lines, treating anyone who 188 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 1: needed help, and delivering supplies. And this is probably how 189 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 1: she got that reputation as a spy. She often gets 190 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: lumped in. If you look up civil war spy, she 191 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: ends up on the list. She has suggested a lot 192 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 1: during our series. That's very true, but while the army 193 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 1: may have used her to get information, there's really no 194 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 1: proof that they did. Walker may have unofficially kept her 195 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:35,679 Speaker 1: eyes and ears open, but she never mentioned anything about 196 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: spying in any of her writings. So it said though 197 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,720 Speaker 1: that Walker did often carry two revolvers with her and 198 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: that she was usually escorted when she crossed Union lines. 199 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:48,560 Speaker 1: But for some reason, on April tenth, eighteen sixty four. 200 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:53,560 Speaker 1: She was alone and unarmed, and Confederate soldiers did capture 201 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 1: her as a spy, and according to Bloomberg's article, the 202 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 1: Confederates apparently didn't know what to make of Walker really. 203 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:05,320 Speaker 1: Confederate Captain B. J. Sam said of her in a letter, quote, 204 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:08,480 Speaker 1: this morning, we were all amused and disgusted too at 205 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,840 Speaker 1: the site of nothing but what the debased and depraved 206 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: Yankee nation could produce, quote a female doctor. So the 207 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: soldiers took her to Richmond, Virginia, where she was imprisoned 208 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:24,200 Speaker 1: in a converted tobacco warehouse called Castle Thunder, which was 209 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 1: a pretty nasty place, as the name suggests. Walker was 210 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:31,319 Speaker 1: there until August, when she was exchanged for a Southern officer, 211 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:34,120 Speaker 1: and her time as a prisoner of war really affected 212 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: the state of her health. She lost a lot of 213 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 1: weight and developed vision problems that ended up affecting her 214 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: ability to practice medicine. After she was free, though Walker 215 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:46,959 Speaker 1: didn't return to the tent hospital. She was assigned to 216 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:51,360 Speaker 1: a women's prison hospital under contract as an acting assistant surgeon, 217 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 1: and then later she was assigned to work in an 218 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:58,560 Speaker 1: orphanage in Tennessee, and according to the Encyclopedia of American 219 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 1: Military History. Though these were more administrative type positions than 220 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 1: surgical one, so she wasn't really getting to practice her 221 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:10,800 Speaker 1: profession to the extent she had earlier. These appointments were 222 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 1: also the last of her career with the Army. Walker 223 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 1: left government service in June eighteen sixty five, so she 224 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:21,600 Speaker 1: never quite had the full career that she wanted with 225 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:25,439 Speaker 1: the Union Army. Apparently, after she was released from prison, 226 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:28,320 Speaker 1: she'd hope that she'd get a permanent position in the 227 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 1: Army as a medical inspector. But that same year, the 228 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 1: same year that she did leave the Army, on November eleventh, 229 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:39,080 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty five, she was awarded the Medal of Honor 230 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:43,360 Speaker 1: by President Andrew Johnson for rendering quote valuable service to 231 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 1: the government to the detriment of her own health. So, 232 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 1: I mean, here's this lady. She can barely get a 233 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 1: job with them for most of the war, and then 234 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:52,400 Speaker 1: she comes out of it with a medal of honor. 235 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:56,199 Speaker 1: That's a pretty good consolation, rise, I guess. And she 236 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,440 Speaker 1: was the first woman. And I think I'll put that 237 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: and ask Ricks, I'll put that out there in ASTERIX. 238 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:04,760 Speaker 1: I think she's still the only woman to have received 239 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 1: a medal of honor. Let us know if if there's 240 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,440 Speaker 1: another out there. Moving on to after the war, Walker 241 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:11,679 Speaker 1: did some newspaper work in New York before returning to 242 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: d C to practice medicine there, But from what I 243 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: can gather, most of the rest of her life was 244 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:19,840 Speaker 1: really devoted to the various social and political issues that 245 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 1: she supported, rather than any secure form of employment. In 246 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:26,200 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty six, for example, she was elected president of 247 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,560 Speaker 1: the National Dress Reform Association. But eventually other feminists tried 248 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:34,800 Speaker 1: to distance themselves from her because she was growing increasingly eccentric, 249 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: and also they were just afraid that people were focusing 250 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,440 Speaker 1: too much on what all the women were wearing rather 251 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:44,240 Speaker 1: than their politics, too much attention going to the bloomers exactly, 252 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: But that didn't seem to affect Walker's point of view 253 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 1: on the matter. She continued to dress differently from most women. 254 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: While in the army, she dressed like an officer, which 255 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 1: was sort of one thing, because you know, maybe she 256 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:57,400 Speaker 1: was just dressing like an officer to fit in with 257 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,839 Speaker 1: everyone else. But after the war, she event started wearing 258 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 1: full male attire, down to a wing caller, a bow tie, 259 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: and a top hat. And she even got arrested for this, yeah, 260 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: more than once, in fact, for masquerading as a man in. 261 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:14,079 Speaker 1: Her excuse was that she had been given permission by 262 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 1: Congress to dress that way, that there's no record of 263 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: any such decree by Congress. She wrote two books, one 264 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: that is at least partly autobiographical, called Hit and another 265 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 1: called Unmasked or The Science of Immorality. But she was 266 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:35,560 Speaker 1: also known to display herself in museum sideshows, so a 267 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:38,760 Speaker 1: lot of people just thought that she was maybe kind 268 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:42,520 Speaker 1: of she'd gone crazy, essentially. Yeah. She said to have 269 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 1: worn her Medal of Honor around all the time. In 270 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:49,080 Speaker 1: nineteen seventeen, though Walker's Medal of Honor was revoked along 271 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: with about nine hundred others, she wasn't the only one 272 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 1: that has happened to. It was revoked by the Board 273 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 1: of Medal Awards because she hadn't actually seen combat, but 274 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:01,479 Speaker 1: Walker refused to give it back. According to the Encyclopedia 275 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: of American History, she said, quote, you can have it 276 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 1: over my dead body, and she continued to wear it 277 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:10,680 Speaker 1: until she died on February one, nineteen nineteen, on her 278 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:14,000 Speaker 1: family's farm in Oswego. So she was good to her threat. 279 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 1: She was, and in ninety seven, thanks in a large 280 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 1: part to the efforts of her great great niece and Walker, 281 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 1: President Jimmy Carter restored her medal of Honor and that 282 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 1: medal now resides in the Oswego Historical Society. So one 283 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,800 Speaker 1: more note on Oswego. Her hometown recently announced just this 284 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 1: year that they're planning on building a fifty three thousand dollar, 285 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: six foot bronze statue of Walker outside their town hall, 286 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:42,920 Speaker 1: you know, celebrate this famous figure from their town. I'm wondering. 287 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:44,880 Speaker 1: I guess they'll they would have to put her in 288 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 1: the Reform dress style, don't you think, or maybe even 289 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 1: the officers uniform. Oh, I don't know. I hope it's 290 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:54,240 Speaker 1: the Reform dress style. Yeah, I mean if if she 291 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 1: was the president of the party, it seems only fitting 292 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: and well, Dr Walk HER's dress as yet undecided for 293 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:04,960 Speaker 1: the statue. We did want to try to give you 294 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 1: a better picture of what she was like as a person, 295 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:10,520 Speaker 1: and here's a good New York Times quote that helps 296 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:14,400 Speaker 1: describe her. Few people have ridiculed Dr Mary to her face. 297 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:17,280 Speaker 1: Perhaps it was because she had a sort of dignity 298 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,560 Speaker 1: because about her essential goodness, there has never been any question. 299 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 1: And Walker said of her own accomplishments in I Am 300 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 1: the Original New Woman. Why before Lucy Stone, Mrs Bloomer, Elizabeth, 301 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: Katie Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony were before they were 302 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 1: I Am in the early forties when they began their 303 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 1: work in dress reform, I was already wearing pants. I 304 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: have made it possible for the bicycle girl to wear 305 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: the abbreviated skirt, and I have prepared the way for 306 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: the girl in Knickerbocker's. So there you go. Yeah, I 307 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:54,360 Speaker 1: mean she was a controversial figure at times, but she 308 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: helped a lot of people. And we were kind of 309 00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:58,440 Speaker 1: giggling a bit when we got to the part where 310 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 1: she wasn't going to give her metal back. But I mean, 311 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:03,640 Speaker 1: it feels like she does deserve some of these honors 312 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 1: that she's getting, and we and we decided it was 313 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 1: just a bad idea to revoke medals that have already 314 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,199 Speaker 1: been given out. We touched about there recently in the 315 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 1: dog episode Military Dogs, one of them got his medals 316 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,880 Speaker 1: taken back. Yeah. I just don't like that. Yeah, I mean, 317 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 1: when once you once you give them you can change 318 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:23,199 Speaker 1: your standards going forward, but if you give somebody a 319 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: medal of honor, let him keep it well. Sarah Dowdy 320 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:29,040 Speaker 1: has spoken, and I think this is a good place 321 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 1: to move on to the listener mail. So first we 322 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: have a very sweet note from Nick, who looks like 323 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: he might have gotten out his special calligraphy pens to 324 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 1: to do this, because I don't you think it looks 325 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 1: like um it's a fine pen. It does, it looks nice, 326 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,000 Speaker 1: it does. So he wrote to us to suggest Martin 327 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:54,760 Speaker 1: Luther and Um also asked us to write. So I 328 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:58,560 Speaker 1: hope reading your mail on listener mail makes up for 329 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:02,160 Speaker 1: not writing. Yeah, we have terrible penmanship, so you don't 330 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 1: want to receive a lot of from us, but thank you, 331 00:18:04,359 --> 00:18:06,600 Speaker 1: thank you so much. And then we also have an 332 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,639 Speaker 1: email from Josh and I just really really liked this. 333 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 1: He wrote to us to say, I am an American 334 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:17,040 Speaker 1: currently living on a book agricultural community in Israel, and 335 00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:20,960 Speaker 1: my job on the kabbutz is a pomegranate farmer. I 336 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 1: pick the fruit, prune the trees, and do just about 337 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:27,640 Speaker 1: everything else needed to help the pomegranates grow. As been 338 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: listening to your podcast every day, all day for a 339 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 1: couple of weeks now, and I just want to say 340 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:36,840 Speaker 1: thank you for making my day so fun. So this 341 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:40,199 Speaker 1: is awesome. I mean, he's picking pomegranates. I'm listening to 342 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:42,520 Speaker 1: our podcast. Yeah, I love that. We we think we're 343 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 1: thinking of making a new listener mail, specific segments devoted 344 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,359 Speaker 1: to things people are doing while they're listening to Steph. 345 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,960 Speaker 1: I started a list already. I'm not gonna lie because 346 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 1: we have been getting so many of these. I think 347 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:59,639 Speaker 1: since we read the listener mail recently where the woman 348 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,879 Speaker 1: lists and while she was doing archaeological work and played 349 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:05,879 Speaker 1: it out loud to alert theirs to her presence, and 350 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:08,240 Speaker 1: I thought that was an unusual use for the podcast. 351 00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:11,199 Speaker 1: That was a cool one, practical one. And so pomegrantic 352 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:15,080 Speaker 1: growing is up there, though definitely up there printing pomegranate tree. 353 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:18,320 Speaker 1: So we are starting a list. If you do something 354 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:22,840 Speaker 1: kind of interesting or unusual while listening. Um, you know, 355 00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:26,640 Speaker 1: don't feel bad. If you're running or working in you're 356 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: doing your laundry, that's fine. I know that's what most 357 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:31,800 Speaker 1: of y'all do, and that is great. But if you 358 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:34,639 Speaker 1: do anything like pick pomegranates and listen to our podcast, 359 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,680 Speaker 1: let us know you might get on listener meal, and 360 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,880 Speaker 1: you can send us all of those suggestions or comments 361 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:45,440 Speaker 1: at History Podcast at how stuff works dot com. We're 362 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,679 Speaker 1: also on Twitter at Miston History. We got a good one. 363 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,280 Speaker 1: We heard from people who baked pies while they listened 364 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:54,200 Speaker 1: to the podcast on Twitter. It makes me want to pie. 365 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:57,160 Speaker 1: That makes me want to ply to UM. And we're 366 00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 1: also on Facebook, so you have lots of ways to 367 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:04,120 Speaker 1: tell uh if you do something unusual while you listen 368 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:07,400 Speaker 1: to the podcast. And we have a plenty of articles 369 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:10,919 Speaker 1: about war that you can look up as you're listening 370 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:13,640 Speaker 1: to our Civil War related podcasts, and you can look 371 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,720 Speaker 1: those up on our website and on our homepage, which 372 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:23,199 Speaker 1: is at www dot how stuff works dot com. Be 373 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:25,920 Speaker 1: sure to check out our new video podcast, Stuff from 374 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: the Future. Join how Stuff Work staff as we explore 375 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:33,200 Speaker 1: the most promising and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. The House 376 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,000 Speaker 1: to Works iPhone app has a rise. Download it today 377 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:36,960 Speaker 1: on iTunes.