Oak Leaves on His Shoulders

Presentation information: The story of African American medical personnel that served during the American Civil War is an often neglected, but important part of Civil War history. "Oak Leaves on His Shoulders: Discovering the African American Civil War Surgeon" will follow a journey of discovery introducing four of the fourteen African Americans who served as surgeons during the American Civil War and how their stories are revealed through their service at one hospital in Washington, D.C.

Bio sketch: Jill L. Newmark is an exhibition specialist and curator at the US National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health. She has worked in the History of Medicine Division of NLM for the past 15 years where she is conducting research on African American medical personnel that served during the American Civil War. She has curated several exhibitions including Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African Americans in Civil War Medicine and has authored several articles that have appeared in Prologue magazine, the quarterly publication of the National Archives, Traces, a publication of the Indiana Historical Society, and several online publications and blogs. She is currently working on a book on African American Civil War Surgeons.

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