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Dr. Mary Walker's Civil War: One Woman's Journey to the Medal of Honor and the Fight for Women's Rights Hardcover – June 1, 2020

by Theresa Kaminski (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 39 ratings
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“I will always be somebody.”

This assertion, a startling one from a nineteenth-century woman, drove the life of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, the only American woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor. President Andrew Johnson issued the award in 1865 in recognition of the incomparable medical service Walker rendered during the Civil War. Yet few people today know anything about the woman so well-known--even notorious--in her own lifetime. Theresa Kaminski shares a different way of looking at the Civil War, through the eyes of a woman confident she could make a contribution equal to that of any man. She takes readers into the political cauldron of the nation’s capital in wartime, where Walker was a familiar if notorious figure. Mary Walker’s relentless pursuit of gender and racial equality is key to understanding her commitment to a Union victory in the Civil War. Her role in the women’s suffrage movement became controversial and the US Army stripped Walker of her medal, only to have the medal reinstated posthumously in 1977.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    344 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Lyons Press
  4. Publication date
    June 1, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    6.47 x 1.01 x 9.32 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1493036092
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1493036097
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review



“History has long neglected the inspiring and incredible tale of Dr. Mary Walker, a pioneering Civil War surgeon who overcame rampant prejudice to save countless soldiers’ lives. In Dr. Mary Walker’s Civil War, Theresa Kaminski has finally given this American hero her due. With impeccable research and engaging prose, Kaminski captures Walker’s outsized bravery and delicious swagger. The result is a vivid, eloquent portrait sure to thrill history buffs and anyone fascinated by the lives of audacious, before-their-time women.”

— Karen Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of The Ghosts of Eden Park

“Dr. Mary Walker, once spurned as “the famous man-woman” for her insistence on wearing pants in public, is a heroine not just of the Civil War, when her service as a doctor made her the first and only woman to receive the Medal of Honor, but of the unfinished revolution for equal rights and fair treatment women are still waging today. Theresa Kaminski’s compelling narrative, thoughtfully contextualized and filled with vibrant characters, brings a complicated reformer and nearly a century of movement history back into the light.”

—Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life and Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast

“Dr. Mary Walker is primarily remembered for one thing, when she is remembered at all: her work as a surgeon in the Civil War. In Dr. Mary Walker's Civil War, Theresa Kaminski gives us an engaging and impeccably researched portrait of Walker as a whole person: devotion to reform, prickly personality, and all. She also demonstrates how easily an important woman can be erased from history during her own lifetime. If you're interested in Civil War medicine, the history of women's rights or kick-ass historical women, you'll want to read Dr. Mary Walker's Civil War.”

–Pamela D. Toler, author of Women Warriors

“Theresa Kaminski tells Dr. Mary Walker's incredible story with an easy to read style and impeccable research. A must read for those interested in not only the Civil War, but also medical history and the history of women's rights.”

— Lori Handeland, New York Times bestselling author

About the Author

Theresa Kaminski earned her Ph.D. in history, with a specialization in American women’s history, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has spent more than twenty-five years researching and writing about American women. Kaminski regularly reviews nonfiction titles for Publishers Weekly and has been published with the Wall Street Journal.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lyons Press (June 1, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 344 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1493036092
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1493036097
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.34 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.47 x 1.01 x 9.32 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 39 ratings

About the author

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Theresa Kaminski

Theresa Kaminski

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Theresa Kaminski, until recently an academic historian, now writes full-time about scrappy women in American history.

Please visit her blog at www.theresakaminski.com.

Follow her on Twitter @KaminskiTheresa.

Stop by her Facebook page, Theresa Kaminski Author.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
39 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

laureljean
5.0 out of 5 stars The Women's Rights Movement and Dr. Mary Walker
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2021
Verified Purchase
Dr. Mary Walker played an integral part in a very important period of time, not only in women’s history, but American history as well. Prior to reading this book, Dr. Walker was unknown to me and it provided an entirely new insight into the suffragist movement. In addition to some well-known names, e.g., Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, I was introduced to many women, also central players in the crusade for women’s equality and voting rights.

Dr. Walker, an intelligent, tenacious advocate of the rights of women, endured hardship, imprisonment, ridicule, and slights in the pursuit of her own beliefs, but never wavered. Her adherence to the concept of dress reform, extremely radical for the era, brought her into conflict with not only men, but women as well. Regardless of frequent taunts, unwelcome attention, and time spent in jail for improper dress, she continued to adopt this manner of dress, beginning with the “bloomer” costume and eventually, graduating to trousers, waistcoat and a cane. She tirelessly campaigned for recognition as a doctor and sought positions in the medical field, the military, and government, only to be repeatedly turned away. Dr. Walker adhered to the position that women had the right to vote from the very beginning, as provided for in the Constitution. She is the first and only woman to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

In Dr. Mary Walker’s Civil War Dr. Theresa Kaminski provides a perspective on the Civil War and the beginnings of the women’s movement that to many, I would assume, is unknown. It is eye opening, interesting, and accessible to the non-historian.
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Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars Only woman to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
And excellent read and tells not only Dr. Walkers Civil War service but her efforts on behalf of women’s rights. Considering the requirements of the time, much different than today’s, Dr. Walker deserved her Medal of Honor and when you consider the facts that two of the Civil Wars most known Union generals, Generals Sherman and Thomas recommended her, there should never have been a question as to her deserving it.
2 people found this helpful
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Sarah Edwards
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2020
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If you are interested in the Civil War, you will more than likely enjoy this book. I did.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Love
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2020
Verified Purchase
Fantastic book!
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N. B. Kennedy
5.0 out of 5 stars A vivid account of a remarkable woman
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2020
Author Theresa Kaminski gives readers a full and fascinating introduction to Mary Walker, a woman we should all know about. Born in 1832, she pushed through barriers that kept women from fully participating in public and professional life. She became a doctor, practiced medicine during the Civil War, spied for the Union, was captured by the Confederacy -- she lived a life almost unimaginable for women of the time. For her war service, she was awarded the Medal of Honor, the only woman who has ever, even to this date, received this commendation.

"I will always be somebody," she once declared. She said this regarding her aversion to marriage, a state that at the time stripped a woman of her rights and personhood, subsuming it in her husband's. But she might as well have said it about her determination to live the kind of full, public and fulfilling life she claimed as a birthright, despite her gender.

Of course, she suffered discrimination because her "outlandish" views. She did not get the military commision she fought for, and was forced to practice medicine as a civilian contract surgeon. Her Medal of Honor was rescinded, although it might not have been gender discrimination, as more than 9,000 Civil War veterans also lost theirs at the same time (follow the money!). She fought for government appointments and jobs and was often stymied by the simple fact that she preferred to wear trousers, jackets and top hats. She was even arrested several times in New York City, New Orleans and Chicago for wearings men's clothes. "I don't wear men's clothes," she protested. "I wear my own clothes."

An ardent suffragist, Dr. Walker was snubbed even by the woman suffrage movement because of her dress and her persistent attempts to speak publicly at conferences and meetings, even when she was not invited. She differed with many women in the movement because of her belief that a new federal amendment wasn't needed, and that women also didn't need to convince individual states to grant women the vote, because the 14th Amendment already granted women the right to vote. Some women agreed with that view, although gradually most gave it up as a lost cause. Not Mary!

Author Theresa Kaminiski has gathered together an amazing amount of research, even given the handicap that Mary Walker didn't keep a journal or publish a memoir. Her account is colorful and enlivened by information that places her vividly in her time and place. You even get a sneak peak into her life through a love letter she received! All in all, this is a great read for anyone interested in the Civil War, the suffrage fight, and women's biographies, among many other subgenres of nonfiction.
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James Tarleton
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent capture of a determined woman; served with compassion but treated less because of gender.
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2022
I love reading about American history. Especially when it is presented from a story line that brings to life a different perspective. The book is packed with events and stories happening during and after the Civil War. I found it easy to pick up where I left off while reading. I've learned so much more from that time in American history and what women were fighting for.
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Rebekah
2.0 out of 5 stars Rabbit Trails Ahead
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2022
I bought this book after visiting the Coolidge National Medal of Honor museum in Chattanooga and learning about Dr. Mary Walker for the first time. I was excited to read this, but was quickly disappointed. This book would be less frustrating if appropriately titled. Instead of ‘Dr. Mary Walker’s Civil War”, this more closely resembles ‘Various Women of the Civil War.’ The author admits from the introduction that there are large gaps of Dr. Walker’s life filled in by assumptions made from the histories of similarly minded women of the era. With that in mind, Walker’s biography would only take about a third of the length of this book if pulled together in a straightforward manner. Instead, every chapter rabbit trails down the path of another notable woman (and the occasional man) who Mary “might” have crossed paths with, sometimes taking several pages before begrudgingly tracking back to Mary’s timeline. Readers will learn a lot about the Civil War and the part women played, but as Mary is supposed to be the titular focus of this book, the constant deviation is off-putting. The author also repeats information, especially concerning Dr. Walker’s dress reform platform. It insults the reader’s intelligence when the author feels the need to remind them in every chapter that Mary wore trousers, championed dress reform, and was disdained for it. Bottom line, this book suffers from over saturation of information and unnecessary deviation, and was difficult to finish.
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