Smallpox During the American Revolutionary War

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Character and Nature of Smallpox
How Smallpox Affected Civilians
How the Americans and the British dealt with Smallpox
Spread of Smallpox in Mexico City and New Spain
Spread of Smallpox in Pacific Northwest and Great Plains
Smallpox and Connections Between People in North America
Conclusion
Work Cited

Introduction

During the American Revolutionary War, disease and enemy forces were two of the biggest perils of the army. Smallpox killed one out of every three affected persons and was possibly the most feared disease (Fenn 41). British troops had previous exposure to the disease and were immune since it was in England. Since it was less prevalent in America, neither the typical continental soldier nor the average American was immune. Smallpox influenced the Revolutionary army’s activities, hampered the United States’ capacity to attract and retain troops, and influenced the contentious creation of preventative medical policy.

Character and Nature of Smallpox

Variola, the virus that causes smallpox, needs a living human host to spread and multiply. The virus needs a steady supply of new victims to survive. According to Fenn’s accounts, smallpox typically takes ten to fourteen days to incubate, and its symptoms include headache, backache, fever, vomiting, and overall unease (21). The fever rises on the fourth day of infection, and the first smallpox sores form in the mouth, throat, and nasal passages. At this time, the patient is infectious, and everyone who comes into touch with him or her risks becoming infected. When death happens, it generally occurs after ten to sixteen days of pain.

How Smallpox Affected Civilians

The Boston outbreak was possibly the most notable example of how smallpox impacted the Revolutionary War. The devastating outbreak that halted the American invasion of Canada also dispersed smallpox among people throughout the country. For these reasons, Washington decided against inoculating his troops during their first experience with smallpox (Fenn 37). Soldiers and civilians who had symptoms were isolated from the rest of the army. Refugees spread smallpox across Massachusetts, and the Boston outbreak lasted until the summer’s end. A quarantine, although imposed, was not strictly enforced; and the casualties demonstrated to Washington that the smallpox policy had failed. After weeks of deliberation, everyone was expected to be inoculated, and the strategy was quickly adopted across the colonies.

How the Americans and the British dealt with Smallpox

The severity of smallpox impacted the people that they had to isolate or flee to escape infection. Isolation entails avoiding contact between vulnerable people and the Variola virus (Fenn 34). While isolation did not solve the issue of vulnerability, another option, inoculation, provided a riskier alternative to a life of fear. Inoculation entailed deliberately inserting live Variola into an incision on the patient’s hand or arm. Patients who had been immunized had a considerably reduced case fatality rate when compared to other smallpox patients.

Smallpox immunity was useful during the war in two ways; first, the virus disproportionately impacted the British and Americans. British troops were more likely to be resistant to the illness due to inoculation or natural exposure. This was not the case with the Continental Army because as soldiers congregated in camp, the likelihood of a smallpox breakout grew. Second, because the possibilities of causing an epidemic were minimal, the British moved promptly to inoculate new troops. Washington, in contrast, hand, wrestled with the issue of inoculation. Not only would this risk an epidemic, but it would render a segment of the army unsuitable for war while they healed.

Spread of Smallpox in Mexico City and New Spain

The Americas’ indigenous peoples, particularly the Aztecs, were especially vulnerable to smallpox because they had never been exposed to the virus and hence lacked natural immunity. Infected people frequently died from smallpox, especially infants and children, which caused significant damage to the Aztecs. Smallpox made many adults immobile, either because they were ill or cared for ailing family members while seeing the devastation it caused to others. The last straw was the inability of people to tend to their crops, which led to widespread famine and severely weakened the immune systems of plague survivors.

Spread of Smallpox in Pacific Northwest and Great Plains

One possible route for smallpox into the Pacific Northwest and Great Plains was via one of the European ships. According to Fenn, other reports blamed shipborne guests, particularly Spaniards (213). Variola continued to terrorize Northwest Coast Indians a generation after the first outbreak and a decade after the second. If records of Native American life were more thorough, they might reveal enormous cultural gaps, as well as the loss of generations of irrecoverable knowledge (Fenn 231). Smallpox obliterated the accumulated wisdom of centuries, leaving those who survived without the recognizable markers by which they structured their worlds and leaving the generations that followed with a thin shell of their previous inheritance.

Smallpox and Connections Between People in North America

Smallpox caused devastation on the east coast from 1775 to 1782, wreaking havoc wherever it got access to susceptible populations. From Quebec to Mexico, the continent was bustling with human activity. Variola infected not only susceptible groups but other connections among them. Human carriers spread the virus through ports, rivers, roads, lakes, and trails, showing how closely connected previously disparate areas were. Doing so created a dreadful shared experience that spanned the continent and changed life for years to come.

Conclusion

Smallpox cast a terrible shadow over the early days of the American Revolutionary War. It significantly impacted American military strategy and combat decisions during the siege of Boston and the war in Canada in 1775 and 1776. The Continental Army could endure and evolve into an efficient and trustworthy combat force, largely thanks to Washington’s determination and devotion to managing the smallpox epidemic. By maintaining the greatest vigilance against this terrible disease, Washington could eliminate the threat of smallpox and shield his men from its fatal effects.

Work Cited

Fenn, Elizabeth. Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82. 1st ed., Hill and Wang, 2002.

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