Binding wounds and pushing boundaries: how African-Americans figured in the epic struggle of North vs. South.

• Position: Wartime Medicine - 'Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African-Americans in Civil War Medicine' exhibit

With a nation divided over states' rights and slavery, the CMI War was a fight to preserve the Union. For African-Americans, it was a battle for freedom from slavery and a chance for full participation in society. As people sought ways to contribute to the war effort, blacks moved beyond the prejudices they faced to serve as soldiers, nurses, surgeons, laundresses, cooks, and laborers. Their input challenged the prescribed notions of race and gender and pushed the boundaries of the role of blacks in the U.S. African-Americans, free and enslaved, provided care for wounded soldiers in Union--and even some of the South's Confederate--hospitals.

Blacks who served as surgeons and nurses for the Union Army of the North found themselves in both new and familiar roles as healers and caretakers. Surgeons were in positions of authority, which never had occurred in the U.S. before, while nurses received paid wages for their work. These men and women came from different backgrounds and life experiences, but their desire to participate in the cause for freedom transcended class, education, and social position.

Most African-American surgeons were assigned to military hospitals or recruiting stations since many white physicians would not serve alongside blacks in the field or be their subordinates.

Many histories have been written about medical care during the Civil War (1861-65), but the contributions of blacks often have been overlooked. Through historical images and period documents...