Lt. Col. (Dr.) Alexander T. Augusta broke barriers throughout his life and military career. His legacy of perseverance and dedication to caring for the warfighter lives on at the military hospital that bears his name: Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1825, he had ambitions of being a doctor as a young child, according to his biography from the National Park Service. As an adult, he moved to Baltimore and then to Philadelphia, where he hoped to enroll in the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school, but faced challenges on his path to an unparalleled medical career.
After American medical schools denied Augusta admission, he moved to Canada. He earned his medical degree from Trinity Medical College in Toronto in 1856 and established a successful private practice where he lived and worked for many years.
Civil War provides an opportunity to serve
When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Augusta returned to the U.S. to serve as a doctor for the Union Army during the Civil War. After several denials, he wrote a letter to Lincoln requesting an appointment as a surgeon according to the National Park Service. After a trip to Washington, D.C., to state his case, he was commissioned as a medical officer in the Union Army, after passing the U.S. Army’s difficult medical board.
On April 14, 1863, with the rank of major, he served as regimental surgeon of the United States Colored Troops 7th Regiment Infantry. He was later promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel in March 1865,and retired Oct. 13,1866.
Dedicated to being an effective and consistent physician, Augusta studied the practical demands of U.S. Army medicine. The National Library of Medicine holds his personal copy of Handbook for the Military Surgeon, a Civil War-era guide used by medical officers for hospital administration, sanitation, food preparation, and wartime surgery.
Influence went beyond military service
His dedication to healthcare excellence continued after the war, when he served as the head of Lincoln Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, and later as an attending surgeon at a smallpox hospital in Washington, D.C.
In 1869, Augusta joined Howard University's medical faculty as one of the founding faculty members of the medical department. As an educator, he helped train future physicians and widened the career path in military and civilian medicine. His career linked patient care, public health, and medical education — three keys to mission readiness that still apply today.
Augusta died at the age of 65 in 1890, in Washington, DC. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Honoring Augusta’s legacy
Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center, a Level III trauma center, is the only military hospital in northern Virginia and an integral part of the Military Health System.
As the hospital’s vision centers on being the "readiness platform of choice," ATAMMC’s Joint Medical Readiness Center handles physical exams and flight medicine, helping determine whether service members are fit for duty.
ATAMMC supports readiness across the National Capital Region by offering 55 specialty clinics, a warrior pavilion for combat-injured, wounded, and ill patients, the DiLorenzo Pentagon Health Clinic, and satellite ambulatory care centers in Dumfries and Fairfax.
The hospital also serves as a training platform for future military physicians and operates the military’s largest tri-service family medicine residency program, with a decade-long, 100%-board pass rate.
The facility also hosts an embedded Department of Veterans Affairs clinic supporting veterans’ healthcare.
As a facility that provides world-class military healthcare, ATAMMC has received many honors and awards in recent years. Recognitions include:
While Augusta opened doors that the nation had tried to keep closed, he proved his value in wartime care, hospital leadership, public health, and medical education. ATAMMC bears his name and honors his legacy through high-quality, award-winning care.