In the fourth and final episode of Death By Lightning, the Netflix historical drama miniseries, President James A. Garfield receives treatment after he is shot by Charles J. Guiteau, but who was the Black doctor who almost saved his life?
The series, which stars Michael Shannon as Garfield and Matthew Macfadyen as Guiteau, follows the election and presidency of the 20th President of the United States.
After narrowly winning the election in 1880, Garfield was shot by Guiteau, who was infatuated with the Republican president. In the final episode of the miniseries, he receives treatment from doctors, two in particular: Doctor Willard Bliss (Željko Ivanek) and Doctor Charles Burleigh Purvis (Shaun Parkes) — the latter being first Black physician to attend a sitting U.S. president.
The series is based on Candice Millard’s book Destiny of the Republic, but what is the true story behind Purvis, who made a recommendation to Bliss that could have changed the fate of Garfield?
Who was Doctor Charles B. Purvis?
Charles B. Purvis was born in 1842 and is renowned for being one of the founders of the medical school at Howard University. He was the first Black physician to treat a sitting President, responding to the shooting of Garfield in July 1881. The medical response was led by former Civil War surgeon Doctor Willard Bliss.
Later in his life, he became the first Black person to serve on the D.C. Board of Medical Examiners and was the first Black person to head a hospital under civilian authority after he was appointed as Surgeon-in-Charge at the Freedmen’s Hospital, which later became the Howard University Medical School.
How did James Garfield die?
After Garfield was shot by Guiteau, the president received treatment by Bliss' medical team. Around the time of the Civil War, gunshot wounds were treated by doctors by extracting the bullet and suturing the wound, as National Geographic reported.
But by the time Garfield was shot, thanks to a method developed by British surgeon Joseph Lister, there was a way to keep wounds and surgical equipment clean with carbolic acid.
However, Garfield’s medical team were not followers of Lister’s surgical techniques, and so the president died two months after the assassination attempt in September 1881 because the doctors did not sanitize their equipment and prodded the bullet wound with their fingers.
Could Purvis have saved Garfield’s life?
Following the shooting, Purvis was part of the team that treated Garfield. "In that train station, there was another doctor, Charles Purvis, who had read up on the latest medical science coming out of Europe and very much cautioned Bliss against not sterilizing his probe," series creator and writer Mike Makowsky said. "And Bliss waved him away. Bliss said he didn’t believe in invisible monsters, these germs, and dismissed the younger doctor. At the end of the day, Guiteau may have fired the bullet, but he’s not Garfield’s ultimate murderer."
While there’s no guarantee that Purvis’ suggestion could have saved Garfield’s life, it certainly would have given him higher chances of survival, considering how he passed.