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“Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Alexander T. Augusta was born
in Norfolk, Virginia, in March, 1825. He graduated from the Trinity
Medical College of the University of Toronto in 1856. During the
Civil War, he was appointed surgeon of the 7th U. S. Colored Troops.
His commission - the equivalent of a major - was dated October 2, 1863.
Promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel on March 13, 1865, he thereby became
the highest ranking black officer in the Civil War era. Augusta was
on detached duty at the Camp for Colored Persons while retaining his formal
affiliation with the 7th U. S. Colored Troops. After the war, he
saw service with the Freedman’s Bureau. Surgeon Augusta was the examining
physician for numerous enlistees in the 33rd U. S. Colored Troops.
The 33rd was formerly the 1st South Carolina before it was redesignated.
This was the first black regiment of the Union side during the Civil War.”
William A. Gladstone
United States Colored Troops,
1863 - 1867
“As nearly as can be determined from military service
records, the following list includes all the African-American surgeons
who served in black regiments during the Civil War:
* Anderson R. Abbott
Alexander T. Augusta, 7th US
Colored Troops
John V. DeGrasse (Assistant
Surgeon), 35th US Colored
Troops, cashiered
* William B. Ellis
William C. Powell, 127th US
Colored Troops
* Charles B. Purvis
* John Rapier
* Alephus Tucker
*(Abbott, Ellis, Purvis, Rapier, and Tucker probably
performed their duties in hospitals as contract surgeons.)”
Ira Berlin.
Freedom, Vol. II, The Black
Military Experience.
