Breath Of My Ancestors Minute 3-8-17

On this day March 8, 1825 Alexander Thomas Augusta was born. During the Civil War he became the highest-ranking black officer in the Union Army.  He was also the first African American head of Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington DC and the first black professor of medicine at Howard University. 



Nevertheless, he was denied recognition as a physician by the American Medical Association. Despite his deep disappointment, Dr. Augusta encouraged young black medical students to continue their studies which helped turn Howard University into an early success.



 He was the first black officer to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery…This has been a Breath of My Ancestors Minute w/Ty Gray-EL…we must never forget