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Oct. 11--FREDERICK -- Dr. Robert Slawson didn't anticipate writing what is believed to be the first book in American history about black physicians in the Civil War.
His book, "Prologue to Change: African Americans in Medicine in the Civil War Era," was published this year by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.
He started researching the topic to prove another man was wrong, Dr. Slawson said with a gentle smile.
In 2002, Dr. Slawson attended a lecture during Black History Month with his wife, Mavis. The lecturer presented sparse details about eight black men he said had worked as Army doctors in the Civil War.
Dr. Slawson, 70, of Columbia is a master docent at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and a semiretired physician. He doubted the accuracy of the lecture.
A short time earlier, he had completed research on the medical education of doctors in that time period. He knew all Army doctors had to possess medical degrees, and Civil War history books he had read claimed no black residents obtained medical degrees until Howard University College of Medicine opened in 1868, Dr. Slawson said.
"I was absolutely convinced there weren't any African American physicians in the Civil War because of that," Dr. Slawson said.
He began researching to find data that would prove the lecturer's error but ended up discovering documentation for at least 23 black physicians in that era.
"I found, much to my surprise, there were a number of African Americans who attended medical school prior to the Civil War," he said.
Of the 23 men, 12 served as Army surgeons in the Civil War, some as commissioned officers and others as contracted surgeons.
George Wunderlich, executive director of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, said Dr. Slawson has shined light on a facet of history that has largely been ignored or overlooked. He believes Dr. Slawson's research will lead to further study by historians across the nation.
"This is one of the most important pieces of original research to come out in the last few years," he said.
Dr. Slawson spent nearly four years poring through archives and libraries and researching online. Written documentation is scarce when it comes to minorities in any profession, he said.
"Minorities suffer a lot when it comes to recording history," Dr. Slawson said. "People writing history may choose to ignore them ... but their stories deserve to be made public."
He is now researching female physicians who served in the Civil War and plans to write a second book.
Dr. Slawson's research showed him pockets of information remain to be uncovered, he said.
"You wouldn't think 140 years later, anything new could come out about the Civil War, but there are other things," he said.
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