Advancing the cause of racial equality while saving lives
Of some twelve thousand Union Civil War surgeons, only fourteen were Black men. This book is the first-ever comprehensive exploration of their lives and service. Jill L. Newmark's outstanding research uncovers stories hidden for more than 150 years, illuminating the unique experiences of proud, patriotic men who fought racism and discrimination to attend medical school and serve with the U.S. military. Their efforts and actions influenced societal change and forged new pathways for African Americans.
Individual biographies bring to light Alexander T. Augusta, who challenged discriminatory laws; William P. Powell Jr., who pursued a military pension for twenty-five years; Anderson R. Abbott, a friend of Elizabeth Keckley's; John van Surly DeGrasse, the only Black surgeon to serve on the battlefield; John H. Rapier Jr., an international traveler; Richard H. Greene, the only Black surgeon known to have served in the Navy; Willis R. Revels, a preacher; Benjamin A. Boseman, a politician and postmaster; and Charles B. Purvis, who taught at Howard University. Information was limited for five other men, all of whom broke educational barriers by attending medical schools in the United States: Cortlandt Van Rensselaer Creed, William B. Ellis, Alpheus W. Tucker, Joseph Dennis Harris, and Charles H. Taylor.
Newmark presents all available information about the surgeons' early lives, influences, education, Civil War service, and post-war experiences. Many of the stories overlap, as did the lives of the men. Each man, through his service as a surgeon during the war and his lifelong activism for freedom, justice, and equality, became a catalyst of change and a symbol of an emancipated future.
Advancing the cause of racial equality while saving lives
Of some twelve thousand Union Civil War surgeons, only fourteen were Black men. This book is the first-ever comprehensive exploration of their lives and service. Jill L. Newmark's outstanding research uncovers stories hidden for more than 150 years, illuminating the unique experiences of proud, patriotic men who fought racism and discrimination to attend medical school and serve with the U.S. military. Their efforts and actions influenced societal change and forged new pathways for African Americans.
Individual biographies bring to light Alexander T. Augusta, who challenged discriminatory laws; William P. Powell Jr., who pursued a military pension for twenty-five years; Anderson R. Abbott, a friend of Elizabeth Keckley's; John van Surly DeGrasse, the only Black surgeon to serve on the battlefield; John H. Rapier Jr., an international traveler; Richard H. Greene, the only Black surgeon known to have served in the Navy; Willis R. Revels, a preacher; Benjamin A. Boseman, a politician and postmaster; and Charles B. Purvis, who taught at Howard University. Information was limited for five other men, all of whom broke educational barriers by attending medical schools in the United States: Cortlandt Van Rensselaer Creed, William B. Ellis, Alpheus W. Tucker, Joseph Dennis Harris, and Charles H. Taylor.
Newmark presents all available information about the surgeons' early lives, influences, education, Civil War service, and post-war experiences. Many of the stories overlap, as did the lives of the men. Each man, through his service as a surgeon during the war and his lifelong activism for freedom, justice, and equality, became a catalyst of change and a symbol of an emancipated future.
Jill L. Newmark, independent historian, is a former curator
and exhibition specialist at the National Library of Medicine,
National Institutes of Health. Her exhibits include “Binding
Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African Americans in Civil War
Medicine,” “Within These Walls: Contraband Hospital and the African
Americans Who Served There,” and “Opening Doors: Contemporary
African American Academic Surgeons.” She has published articles in
Prologue and Traces, as well as online in Circulating Now and
blackpast.org. Find more about her work
at www.blackcivilwarsurgeons.com.
“Far from a purely inspirational narrative, Jill L. Newmark aptly
demonstrates the social, political, cultural, and personal
struggles and indeed artistry of a group of pioneering Black
soldier-surgeons, medical professionals, humanitarians,
politicians, and entrepreneurs whose collective recognition is long
overdue."—Christopher M. Tinson, author of Radical Intellect:
Liberator Magazine and Black Activism in the 1960s
“Jill L. Newmark fills a significant gap in scholarship on Civil
War medicine with her deeply researched and detailed exploration of
the Black military surgeons of the Civil War. In each biographical
exploration, Newmark reminds us of the important work that Black
surgeons performed, not only in the medical tent, but in claiming
and advancing the work of civil rights."—Sarah Handley-Cousins,
author of Bodies in Blue: Disability in the Civil War North
“A magnificent accomplishment! This volume reconstructs the lives
of 14 Black Civil War–era physicians through meticulous and dogged
archival research. These revelations about Black medical
contributions to the war will inspire historians and their students
for years to come."—Margaret Humphreys, author of Intensely Human:
The Health of the Black Soldier in the American Civil War
“A monumental achievement, Without Concealment, Without
Compromise is the first book on the Black physicians who served
during the U.S. Civil War. Jill L. Newmark has meticulously
researched city directories and census records, newspaper reports
and pension applications, federal depositions and military
documents to produce a breathtaking account of the Black doctors
who wore Union blue. The portraits of these men are
compelling. Without Concealment, Without Compromise is a must read
for anyone interested in either the Civil War or the history of
medicine."—Jim Downs, author of Maladies of Empire: How
Colonialism, Slavery, and War Transformed Medicine
“Newmark’s book moves deftly among medical history, military
history, social history, and religious history—in the process
showing how some of those traditional boundaries vanish when
examining an event like the Civil War. An important work for anyone
interested in the African American experience during the conflict
that ended slavery. The author resurrects the stories of dedicated
medical professionals who broke through racial barriers and serve
to inspire us still."—Zachery A. Fry, author of A Republic in the
Ranks: Loyalty and Dissent in the Army of the Potomac
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