born , May 6, 1812, Charles Town, Virginia, U.S.
died Jan. 24, 1885, Xenia, Ohio
U.S. abolitionist and physician.
After working in Pittsburgh, Pa., as a doctor's assistant, he founded a newspaper, Mystery , in the 1840s to publicize the grievances of blacks; he later copublished the North Star (1846–49) with American Civil War to recruit for the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers, for which he also served as surgeon. He was made a major, the first black to receive a regular army commission. He later served in the Freedmen's Bureau .