In Morristown, New Jersey during one of the winters that the Continental army bedded down in that geographically critical hamlet, General George Washington ordered the inoculation of his forces for smallpox. This was the first instituted innoculation of American forces and the requirement proved effective. Smallpox would claim more lives–both British and American–during the American Revolution than any other single cause or disease.
With the world today facing a pandemic, the historians at Emerging Revolutionary War invite you to take a step back into time, to the 18th century, as they discuss diseases during the war, including at such winter encampments as Morristown and Valley Forge, in the southern colonies and the campaigning that traversed the Carolinas and Georgia, along with an outbreak of yellow fever that changed the course of American political history and played a major role in the permanent placement of the United States capital.
Join us at our usual time, 7 p.m. EST, on our Facebook page, as the next installment of “Rev War Revelry” discusses diseases and investigates illnesses of the Colonial America during the American Revolutionary era. Since alcohol was considered medicinal, there is no excuse to not bring your favorite brew as you watch, listen, chime in, and comment.
Emerging Revolutionary War Era 