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Abstract: In 1775 smallpox created severe problems for the newly created Continental Army assembled outside Boston and significantly affected General George Washington's military strategy during the Siege of Boston. The existence of this deadly disease in epidemic proportions precluded an American attack. This factor, along with suspected biological warfare by the British, forced Washington to maintain a nine-month siege. Washington took extreme care to protect his army from smallpox as evidenced by his cautious moves, designed to limit the exposure of his troops to the disease. These efforts highlight his concern over its destructive effect on his troops. Washington's policies of containment and inoculation developed as a response to the impact that smallpox epidemics had on his ability to wage war. Much of his early military strategizing and administrative effort was put toward solving the problems smallpox caused for his troops and ensuring a healthy, reliable military force capable of fighting effectively. The author concludes that Washington's vigilance in segregating those infected with the disease and his use of selective inoculation were critical factors in preventing a disastrous epidemic among the troops and militia outside Boston during the siege. Dr. Ann M. Becker's fascinating article draws from her in-depth dissertation, "Smallpox in Washington's Army: the Strategic Implications of the Disease during the American Revolutionary War."
Historians of the American Revolution often fail to consider the impact of smallpox on the war, though military leaders on both sides of the conflict were preoccupied with preventing a smallpox outbreak, and their tactics and strategies were influenced by the disease. In June 1775, George Washington (1732-1799) was appointed commander in chief of the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress at Philadelphia. When he arrived in Boston on July 2, 1775, he found many problems awaiting him as he assumed command, not least among them smallpox.1 He was extremely anxious to prevent the variola virus, which causes smallpox, from spreading among his soldiers, not only for the obvious reason that an epidemic among the troops would wreak havoc with his ability to fight the British and might threaten the very existence of his army, but because fear of smallpox might retard enlistment in the new army. Washington thus made the health of his troops one of his...