Roundtable: Dr. Mary Walker, The Little Lady in Pnts

Join speaker Matt Farina as he shares the “Dr. Mary Walker: The Little Lady in Pants.” Mary Edwards Walker was born to progressive parents in Upstate New York in 1832. She graduated from Syracuse Medical School in 1855 and became one of a handful of the earliest women physicians. When the Civil War broke out, Mary went to Washington, D.C. and requested an appointment as an assistant surgeon in the Union Army. Naturally she was refused. She volunteered her services over the next several years and persisted in her attempts. Eventually she was successful and became the only female doctor in the Union Army. She spent almost five months as a prisoner of war in Castle Thunder in Richmond. In 1866 she was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Andrew Johnson. She remains the only woman to date to be awarded this honor. Her life before, during and after the Civil War was filled with controversy. Many of her beliefs were decades ahead of her times. She is in a small group of Civil War characters who have had a stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service. Yet she is largely unknown to Civil War historians and enthusiasts. Matt Farina is a retired pediatric cardiologist and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Albany Medical College in Albany, NY. He now lives in Southern Pines, NC. He is President of the Rufus Barringer Civil War Round Table and is editor of their newsletter since 2008, and is Co-President of the Moore County Historical Association and has been editor of the Association’s newsletter since 2019. Matt has been an author on approximately forty articles and abstracts in cardiology and has won a number of teaching awards at the medical college. He was a Major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1971-73 and earned a Medal of Commendation. His teaching passion now is the Civil War. Matt has spoken to other round tables in several states and has offered short courses on the War at the Sandhills Community College in the adult life-long learning program and at the North Carolina State University Life-long Learning Institute. He has also organized Civil War exhibits at the Sandhills Community College Library from 2010 to 2021. He is on the advisory board for the North Carolina Civil War, Emancipation & Reconstruction History Center. The Petersburg Civil War Roundtable (PCWRT) will meet the first Thursday of each month at Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier from 7:00 pm-8:00 pm. Annual membership is $40.00. Individuals who are already members of Pamplin Historical Park can become members of PCWRT for $20.00. Non-members can attend for $5.00 each meeting. Call (804) 861-2408 for more information.