Without Concealment, Without Compromise

The Courageous Lives of Black Civil War Surgeons

Jill L. Newmark (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

312 Seiten

2023
Southern Illinois University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8093-3904-4 (ISBN)

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This collective biography illuminates how the lives and successes of fourteen African American physicians who became surgeons during the American Civil War challenged the prescribed notions of race in America and played a crucial role in the evolving definition of freedom and patriotism.

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.

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
1. Breaking the Color Barrier: The Medical Education and Military Service of African American Physicians in the Nineteenth Century
2. Catalyst for Change: Alexander Thomas Augusta (1825-1890)
3. For Race and Country: William Peter Powell, Jr. (1834-1916)
4. Witness to History: Anderson Ruffin Abbott (1837-1913)
5. Serving in the Regiment: John van Surly DeGrasse (1825-1868)
6. Adventure and Ambition: John H. Rapier, Jr. (1835-1866)
7. From Ivy League to U.S. Navy: Richard Henry Greene (1833-1877)
8. Preacher and Physician: Willis Richardson Revels (1817-1879)
9. Physician, Politician, Postmaster: Benjamin Antonius Boseman (1840-1881)
10. A Family Affair: Charles Burleigh Purvis (1842-1929)
11. The Black Ivy League: Cortlandt Van Rensselaer Creed (1833-1900) and William Baldwin Ellis (1833-1867)
12. The Iowa Connection: Alpheus W. Tucker (1844-1880), Joseph Dennis Harris (1834-1884), and Charles H. Taylor (1844-1875)
Bibliography
Index

Erscheinungsdatum	29.04.2023
Reihe/Serie	Engaging the Civil War
Zusatzinfo	26 illustrations
Verlagsort	Carbondale
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	472 g
Themenwelt	Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte
	Studium ► Querschnittsbereiche ► Geschichte / Ethik der Medizin
ISBN-10	0-8093-3904-8 / 0809339048
ISBN-13	978-0-8093-3904-4 / 9780809339044
Zustand	Neuware