Smallpox in Washington's army: Strategic implications of the disease during the American Revolutionary War

Smallpox played a pivotal role in military events during the American Revolution, and wreaked havoc with both American and British strategic planning throughout the war. This dissertation explores the ways in which smallpox complicated military efforts, threatened the existence of an organized armed rebellion, and led to the increased use of the preventive measure of inoculation among military and civilian populations. Chapter one describes the horrific nature of smallpox, colonial efforts to control the disease and the controversial nature of inoculation. The second chapter discusses the impact the disease had during the Siege of Boston in 1775, where General George Washington altered his military strategy to accommodate rumors of British germ warfare and a burgeoning epidemic. Anecdotal evidence places the blame for the devastating defeat in Canada in 1776 squarely on smallpox, which is the focus of the third chapter. Northern Army commander General Horatio Gates conceded that his army had been "entirely ruined with smallpox...." During the first years of the war, smallpox threatened the existence of the American army, and dealing with the disease complicated military efforts. In order to sustain the Revolution, smallpox had to be controlled. The fourth chapter details how mass inoculation was used beginning in 1777 "to stop the progress of the smallpox" among American troops.;Chapter five discusses how smallpox adversely affected the ability of the British to fight effectively in the southern colonies due to the Royal Army's dependence on large numbers of local militia and black laborers, who were highly susceptible to the variola virus. The final chapter addresses how fear of the contagion among Revolutionary War prisoners allowed the recruitment of American captives, and describes how the horrific conditions and rampant smallpox contagion resulted in massive mortality rates among the patriots through 1783.