**Valor Trail, “Dr. Mary Edwards Walker”** (valortrail.org) — Concise summary of Castle Thunder imprisonment, Medal of Honor citation language, and 1977 restoration summary.
**CivilWarProfiles, “Dr. Mary Walker and the Medal of Honor”** (civilwarprofiles.com) — Details on the 1917 board composition (five retired generals), formal findings date (February 5, 1917), board criterion (“convincingly displayed valor in combat”), and Walker’s refusal to accept the ruling.
**American Heritage, “Dr. Mary Edwards Walker Gets Hers Back”** (americanheritage.com) — Context on the 1917 rescission (864 of 911 cases were the 27th Maine), Army Secretary Clifford Alexander’s June 10, 1977 action, and the 1977 board language (“may have erred”).
**Washington Post, “Medal of Honor Is Restored To Civil War Woman Doctor”** (June 11, 1977) — Contemporary news coverage of the restoration.
**Factual guardrails applied:** Avoided claiming measured word count without measurement. Noted the ambiguity over Lincoln vs. Johnson authorization for the original award. Distinguished civilian contract surgeon status from commissioned rank throughout. Noted that the 1977 restoration’s precise legal authority has been questioned by some historians. Did not confuse Medal of Honor with Congressional Gold Medal. Attributed Leonard Wood comparison to critics and noted the incomplete explanation in the record. Described Walker’s intelligence activities as a point where the documentary record has limits. Dated the Fort Walker renaming and reversion accurately (August 2023 to Fort Walker; reverted June 2025).
## The 1855 Graduating Class at Syracuse
When Walker took her place among the graduates of Syracuse Medical College in June 1855, she was stepping into a genuinely new category of American professional life.