He attended President Garfield after he was shot by an assassin on July 2 , 1881 . This made him the first black physician to attend to a sitting president . Later in 1881 he was appointed by President Chester Arthur to Surgeon-in-Charge at the Freedmen 's hospital . Purvis was surgeon-in-charge at the Freedmen 's Hospital from October 1 , 1881 , to 1894 , and in that role was the first black person to head a hospital under civilian authority . In a letter from 1908 , Purvis stated he believed he was removed by the Secretary of the Interior Hoke Smith in favor of a Democrat
assassin on July 2 , 1881
Assassination of James A. Garfield
Charles Burleigh Purvis