OSWEGO COUNTY – Local and national organizations have joined forces to recognize a true American pioneer – Dr. Mary Edwards Walker. The National Women’s History Museum and the U.S. Mint are working with the Oswego Town Historical Society and the Oswego County Historical Society to hold a ceremony on Saturday, June 8. The event begins at 2 p.m. at Oswego High School’s Robinson-Faust Theater, 2 Buccaneer Blvd., Oswego.
The free event is open to the public and celebrates the upcoming release of the Dr. Mary Walker quarter as part of the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarters Program, which recognizes the accomplishments and contributions of trailblazing women who have helped shape American history and pave the way for generations to come.
Dr. Walker was one of five women selected for the honor and the quarter shows her holding her pocket surgical kit with the Medal of Honor and surgeon’s pin on her uniform. The Dr. Walker quarter will go into circulation later in June, but attendees of the June 8 event will receive a free Dr. Walker quarter while supplies last.
The event includes a ceremony, the unveiling of the quarter, living history interpreters, a performance by Oswego High School student musicians and a panel of distinguished speakers. Descendants of Dr. Walker from across the country will attend the event, and there will be a special presentation for them during the ceremony.
A native of Oswego Town, Dr. Walker was a Civil War surgeon, women’s rights activist and abolitionist. She graduated from medical college in 1855 as the second woman in the U.S. to obtain a medical degree. She went on to volunteer in hospitals in Washington D.C. during the early years of the Civil War, crossing battlelines to provide life-saving care to wounded soldiers.
In 1864, Dr. Walker was taken prisoner by Confederate forces and spent four months in a Richmond, Virginia prison until being released in a prisoner exchange. The following year she was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for her numerous acts of heroism and bravery on the battlefield. Today, Dr. Walker remains the only woman to have been awarded the Medal of Honor.
After her time on the battlefield, Dr. Walker gave lectures throughout the U.S. and Europe, published two books and multiple articles, and spent several years in Washington D.C. advocating for suffrage and other causes. She died in 1919 at her home in Oswego Town.
Many honors have been bestowed upon Dr. Walker throughout the years, including a U.S. Army Garrison Regional Training Center in Virginia being renamed to Fort Walker in 2023 in honor of Dr. Walker’s heroism. Other recognitions include a WWII liberty ship named S.S. Mary Walker in her honor, a 1982 U.S. Postal commemorative stamp with her image on it, and a 900-pound bronze statue of Dr. Walker placed in front of the Oswego Town Hall in 2012.
A number of national organizations will be in attendance at the event, including the National Women’s History Museum, the U.S. Mint, the U.S. Army and the Whitman-Walker Health Clinic of Washington, D.C. Local, state and federal representatives will also be on hand.
Registration for the free event is required for planning purposes; however, no one will be turned away. To register, visit https://events.womenshistory.org/events/historic-change-dr-mary-edwards-walker/.
Congratulations on bringing continued recognition to an extraordinary American woman. Her philosophy then and now resonates with women today and their goals.