President Abraham Lincoln Appoints the Surgeon in Charge of the Hospital That Treated Wounded and Sick African-American and Native American Soldiers
Dr. Edwin Bentley's interest in African-Americans continued after the war, as he went to become the first professor of anatomy at Howard University.
Dr. Bentley's hospital also treated slaves who had escaped to freedom
Dr. Edwin Bentley enlisted in the 4th Connecticut Infantry in June 1861 as an assistant surgeon, and he eventually attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. He received his first promotion in February 1862.
Document signed, on vellum, Washington, February 21,...
Dr. Bentley's hospital also treated slaves who had escaped to freedom
Dr. Edwin Bentley enlisted in the 4th Connecticut Infantry in June 1861 as an assistant surgeon, and he eventually attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. He received his first promotion in February 1862.
Document signed, on vellum, Washington, February 21, 1862, with engravings of an eagle, flags, and accoutrements of war, appointing Bentley Brigade Surgeon of Volunteers, retroactive and effective as of September 4, 1861. It is countersigned by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. This appointment brought Bentley into a position of leadership among the Union Army's medical staff, and in this capacity he received a commendation during the siege of Yorktown in May 1862.
In September 1862, Bentley was placed in charge of the Third Division of the U.S. Army General Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, and in 1864, all the area hospitals. This was an important post, as Alexandria, just across from Washington, DC, was the center of medical care for the Union forces. The three included L’Ouverture Hospital, which was designated for the treatment of African-American and Native American soldiers.
L’Ouverture Hospital opened in February 1864 and was named after the Haitian revolutionary, Toussaint L’Ouverture. It occupied the space of a city block, and could accommodate 600 patients. Besides soldiers, the hospital also served African-American civilians, many of whom had escaped from slavery and sought refuge in Alexandria, Virginia. In December 1864, more than 400 patients at the hospital led a successful protest demanding that colored soldiers be buried in Alexandria National Cemetery with full honors rather than being interred at the Freedmen's Cemetery. Bentley took over charge of the hospital late in 1864. He was well regarded by his patients and fellow staff, and received a gold watch from grateful patients.
Bentley's interest in helping African-Americans continued after the war. He became the first professor of anatomy at Howard University, a position he held from 1868 to 1870. He was later one of the founders of the University of Arkansas College of Medicine.
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