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. The Texas Military Forc ...

during and after the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

Early life

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

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

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

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, in 1818. Albert Levy attended the

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

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, 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, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 60,501. The county seat is Chatham. Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical ...

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

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 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, a voluntary militia group supporting the

. 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 governm ...

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 i ...

. 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 Specialis ...

included stints on the ''

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC) 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 Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...

'' and the ''

Independence Independence is a condition of a 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 status of ...

''. 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 (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

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 List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

celebrated Albert Moses Levy Memorial Day on April 30, 1986, to honor Levy and other

Jewish Texans Jewish Texans have been a part of the history of Texas since the first European explorers arrived in the region in the 16th century. In 1990, there were around 108,000 adherents to Judaism in Texas. More recent estimates place the number at around ...

who fought for Texas independence.

References

Jewish American scientists 1800 births 1848 deaths Dutch emigrants Immigrants to the United States {{texas-bio-stub