Richard A. Marfuggi, MD, DMH: Mary Edwards Walker: Staunch Ally and Formidable Foe

MHSNJ Zoom Program—Tuesday, November 17, 2026, 7:00 pm EDT

Speaker: Richard A. Marfuggi, MD, DMH

Topic:  Mary Edwards Walker: Staunch Ally and Formidable Foe

Summary

Mary Edwards Walker (1832–1919) was an American physician, Civil War surgeon, and women’s rights reformer whose career challenged the rigid gender expectations of nineteenth-century America. She grew up in a reform-minded family that fostered education and independence. Walker earned her medical degree in 1855 from Syracuse Medical College, becoming one of the relatively few women physicians in the United States.

When the Civil War began, Walker sought a Union Army medical commission but was denied because she was a woman. In 1863, the Army of the Cumberland appointed her Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon. In 1864, she was captured by Confederate forces and held as a Union prisoner of war.

For her wartime service, President Andrew Johnson awarded Walker the Medal of Honor. After the war, she lectured, wrote, and advocated for women’s suffrage, dress reform, and equality for women.

About the speaker

Dr. Marfuggi, a retired board-certified plastic surgeon, previously served as president of the Medical History Society of New Jersey.  He was the first medical doctor to earn a Doctor of Medical Humanities degree from Drew University.

He has held numerous professional roles, including Medical Director of the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) on Medicine and Health Care, Medical Director of the WBB Research Institute (WBBRI), and Commissioner of the American Medical Association Foundation (AMAF).

Earlier this month (10/2/26), Dr. Marfuggi received the 2026-27 Service to Medicine and Community Award from the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Alumni Association, in recognition of “an alumnus who has maintained a high standard of medical service and who has achieved an outstanding record of community service.”