Albert Moses Levy (1800 – 1848) was a Dutch-American physician best known for his work as a surgeon to the

Texas Military Forces The Texas Military Forces (TXMF) are the principal instrument through which the Texas Military Department (TMD) executes security policy for Texas, which has the second-largest population and border in the United States, and the 9th-largest econ ...

during and after the Texas Revolution.

Early life

Levy was born into a Jewish family in the Netherlands, probably in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

; his parents were Abraham Levy and Rachel Cornelia Levy, née Bernard. The Levys immigrated to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, in 1818. Albert Levy attended the

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, graduating in 1832. He married Episcopalian Maria A. Bishop around 1830. They had one daughter, born 1832. The family relocated to

Pittsylvania County, Virginia Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 60,501. Chatham is the county seat. Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical Ar ...

, in 1834, but Maria died the following year. Levy relocated to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, home of his brother Lewis, leaving his daughter in the care of his sister in Richmond.

Texas Revolution and later life

Levy soon joined the

New Orleans Greys The New Orleans Greys was a Military volunteer unit of two militia companies that totaled about 120, formed in the city of that name for service in the Texas War of Independence. Its name came from its soldiers' grey military fatigues. Companie ...

, a voluntary militia group supporting the Texas Revolution. After arriving in Texas, he was appointed chief surgeon of Texas' voluntary army. He was injured in the

Siege of Béxar The siege of Béxar (or Béjar) was an early campaign of the Texas Revolution in which a volunteer Texian army defeated Mexican forces at San Antonio de Béxar (now San Antonio, Texas). Texians had become disillusioned with the Mexican governme ...

but remained in the army until February 10, 1836, when he left to join the

Texas Navy The Texas Navy, officially the Navy of the Republic of Texas, also known as the Second Texas Navy, was the naval warfare branch of the Texas Military Forces during the Republic of Texas. It descended from the Texian Navy, which was established ...

. His career as a

naval surgeon A naval surgeon, or less commonly ship's doctor, is the person responsible for the health of the ship's company aboard a warship. The term appears often in reference to Royal Navy's medical personnel during the Age of Sail. Ancient uses Speciali ...

included stints on the ''

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

'' and the ''

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

''. On April 17, 1837, Mexican forces captured the ''Independence'' and took the crew prisoner. Three months later Levy escaped and returned to Texas on foot. Levy established a practice in Matagorda and was appointed to the Medical Board of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

in 1838. The same year he married another Episcopalian, Claudinia Olivia Gervais, with whom he had five children. He committed suicide in May 1848. The state of Texas commemorates Levy with a historical marker in Matagorda. The City of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

celebrated Albert Moses Levy Memorial Day on April 30, 1986, to honor Levy and other Jewish Texans who fought for Texas independence.

References

Jewish American scientists 1800 births 1848 deaths {{texas-bio-stub