More than 2 million Americans served in the American Civil War. Among them were 14 individuals who were part of the groundbreaking cadre of Black surgeons who served in the Union Army.
These surgeons were not only trailblazers in military history but also in the areas of medicine and civil rights. Two physicians in particular exemplified the journey and impact of these pioneers: First Lieutenant Alexander T. Augusta, MD, and Major Anderson R. Abbott, MD.
They first met in Canada, before the war, where Dr. Augusta was a practicing physician, having immigrated there after being denied an education in the US. He served as Dr. Abbott’s teacher as he became the first Black Canadian-born physician.1
As the American Civil War started to escalate, Dr. Augusta lobbied for his commission over several months in 1863, first with the US Department of War and then with President Abraham Lincoln himself, begging for the opportunity to serve his country.2
Prior to the Emancipation Proclamation, Black Americans were not permitted to serve during the Civil War as soldiers, let alone physicians. His tenacity would pay off, however, and Dr. Augusta was commissioned as a surgeon in the US Army, becoming the first Black officer in US history.1
Confronting Discrimination
Initially assigned to Camp Stanton in Maryland, Dr. Augusta faced immediate scrutiny by his White colleagues and was transferred to the contraband camp located in Camp Baker in Washington, DC, to oversee its hospital known as Freedmen’s Hospital.
“Contraband” was a term given to slaves who escaped to Union lines, where they formed or were placed in refugee camps called contraband camps and were provided basic amenities and support by the Union government, including healthcare.
Under Dr. Augusta’s leadership as the first Black hospital administrator, Freedmen’s Hospital served as a nexus for Black surgeons, and it was there he was joined by Dr. Abbott and several other Black surgeons to tend to the camp’s growing population.1-3
Their tasks ranged from treating wounds sustained while fleeing Confederate forces and managing outbreaks to training members of the camp to act as nurses and orderlies.1,2 Given their unique position in the Union Army, it is no surprise that their activities extended beyond healthcare to include civil rights during their time at Freedmen’s.
Both surgeons found themselves embroiled in the push for civil rights and equality while in DC, despite facing scrutiny, discrimination, and violence. Almost 100 years prior to Rosa Parks, Dr. Augusta, dressed in his Army uniform, was forced off a city streetcar into the rain when he refused to relinquish his seat and move to the uncovered section for Black passengers.
After arriving at his meeting both late and soaking wet, he reached out to his allies within the government, including Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts. Within a year, legislation was passed desegregating all DC streetcars in 1865, an early step in the civil rights movement.
Another watershed moment in the quest for civil rights: achieving pay equity for Black soldiers. Dr. Abbott and several other Black soldiers successfully lobbied the US Congress to provide equal pay for all in 1864.2
Despite these victories and sharing the same uniform, many White doctors and nurses continued to refuse to work with Black surgeons. Both Drs. Augusta and Abbott faced race-related violence during their time at Freedmen’s: Dr. Augusta was attacked by a mob that required armed guards to escape, and Dr. Abbott was assaulted one night while walking through town.2,4 Nevertheless they stayed in DC, treating patients and advocating for equality.
The two surgeons leveraged their trailblazing status within the capital to network with important politicians, including Senator Sumner, who were instrumental in aiding their efforts. The physicians even gained the attention of President Lincoln, who invited them to an evening reception at the White House.
In their finest dress uniforms, laced with gold braid and bullion, both men struck an impressive image. Here were two highly educated Black American officers in uniform, conversing with the most powerful figures in the country. They were reportedly the talk of the evening amongst partygoers, but not all the conversation was positive.
One perplexed onlooker was Robert Todd Lincoln, the son of President Lincoln, who asked his father if he was to “allow this innovation” of Black officers in the White House. President Lincoln simply replied: “Why not?”
Dr. Abbott would go on to develop a close relationship with the Lincolns during his tenure at Freedmen’s Hospital, and he helped care for the President after he was mortally wounded in April 1965.3,4
Enduring Influence
Following the war, Dr. Abbott returned to Canada, where he lived a polymath’s life, writing and speaking on many subjects, in addition to practicing medicine as the first Black coroner for Kent County, Ontario, in 1874. He returned to the US briefly to help surgeon Daniel Hale Williams, MD, establish Provident Hospital, in Chicago, Illinois, before returning to Canada, where he died in 1913.
Dr. Augusta would eventually be transferred from Freedmen’s, with Dr. Abbott assuming the mantle of leadership prior to the war’s end.2 Dr. Augusta would achieve the rank of lieutenant colonel before mustering out from the Army in 1866, and he returned to Freedmen’s Hospital as the first Black medical faculty member in any US medical college at the newly established Howard University in Washington, DC.
He served selflessly during his tenure, volunteering to forgo his salary when necessary to keep the school open. With his death in 1890, Dr. Augusta achieved one more first: he was the first Black officer buried at Arlington National Cemetery.1
The lives of Drs. Alexander Augusta and Anderson Abbott embodied both the challenges and significance of Black surgeons in the American Civil War, and in many ways, they paved the way for future physicians and patients, helping ensure a “new birth of freedom” for the US that is still felt today.
