Alexander T Augusta was one of at least thirteen black civil war physicians.
Because of his skin color Alexander T Augusta was not allowed to enroll in medical school in the United States. Unwilling to give up his dream, he moved to Canada in 1850 and enrolled in Trinity Medical College in Toronto.
After receiving his medical degree from Trinity he wrote to President Abraham Lincoln and requested to serve as a Civil War physician for a “colored regiments.”
Dr. Augusta would became the first African American commissioned as a medical officer in the Union Army. For a while he served as surgeon-in-charge at the Contraband Hospital for free blacks and former slaves in Washington, DC.
He later became head-surgeon for the 7th Infantry of the United States Colored Troops in Maryland.
When Dr. Augusta joined his regiment, several white surgeons objected to having a black man as their superior officer. They wrote to President Lincoln asking to end Dr. Augusta’s appointment. Dr. Augusta was reassigned to a recruiting station for black troops. (Source: https://www.nlm.nih.gov)
