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Joseph Dennis Harris (JD Harris) was born free around 1833 in Cumberland County, North Carolina. In June 1864, Harris assumed the role of acting assistant surgeon at the U.S. Army’s Balfour Hospital in Portsmouth. Initially responsible for overseeing one ward with 100 patients, his duties expanded over time to managing three wards.
During the Union occupation of Portsmouth, the Ocean House Hotel (formerly the Famous Department Store and later TCC Arts building) was converted into the Balfour General Hospital. This facility treated Union "colored soldiers" as well as free contraband people with Dr. Harris serving as the Acting Assistant Surgeon. He thus became the first African American doctor to practice in Portsmouth.
While stationed in Virginia, Harris became involved in politics. He initially engaged by adding his signature to the call for a national convention of African Americans, which was published in the Boston Liberator on September 16, 1864, although he did not physically attend the meeting. Harris likely participated in various local and state conventions organized by African American men in Virginia in the years following the Civil War. Moreover, he attended and delivered a brief speech at a conference of black and white Republicans held in Richmond in August 1867.
In 1863, during the Restored Government of Virginia, Thomas Russell Bowden nominated Harris for lieutenant governor (see attached 1863 ticket). Additionally, Lewis Lindsey, an African American delegate who had served in the Constitutional Convention of 1867–1868, endorsed Harris for this position.
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