British used bioweapon in US war of independence

New Scientist Blog ^ | 19 August 2011 | Debora MacKenzie

[Pharmboy]

(Image: Everett Collection/Rex Features)

A document has just gone on display at Mount Vernon, Virginia - the museum in the former home of George Washington, first US President. It is an order dated 1777 and signed by Washington himself to send troops that had not been vaccinated for smallpox - or survived it - to Philadelphia to be vaccinated. These troops were then to join up with the main army, where the disease was raging.

It sounds like amazing foresight for its day. "Washington's careful handling of the smallpox epidemic at the beginning of the war was a significant reason for the disease not decimating his army", says Mount Vernon.

Not quite. Washington's order was likely a response, not just to a normal smallpox epidemic, but to a bioweapon wielded by the British enemy - a strategy that the redcoats had already used against the colonists to great effect earlier in the American revolutionary war.

[Pharmboy]

Washington contracted smallpox during his trip to Barbados (accompanying his half-brother Lawrence) and was thus immune himself. That trip was the only time he was ever out of this country.

[cripplecreek]

Seems like I read that Washington employed a crude form of smallpox vaccination at Valley Forge.

[Pharmboy]

A particularly ugly chapter in the Brit war strategy. An easy click-through to the full story.

The RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping list...

[Pharmboy]

Indeed...it was called “variolation.” Jenner’s cowpox technique did not gain widespread use for another 20 or so years.

[max americana]

After all this time, new info comes out about the War of Independence. Not only was he begging for money daily with Congress, but did everything possible to keep the Army together. GW is the Man’.

[TheCause]

Long Live George Washington!

[cripplecreek]

it was called “variolation.”

Collecting scabs and puss to infect the healthy. I'm not exactly sure why it worked the way it did but it brought the fatality rate down to 1 or 2% vs the usual 30% or so.

[max americana]

>Long Live George Washington!<

F YEAH!

[Pharmboy]

You are most correct, sir.

And during peacetime, he was constantly helping his neighbors in many ways including loaning some money that he knew he would never get back. In my mind, no better Earthly man ever lived...

[Red6]

Biological and chemical warfare are nothing new. Even psychological warfare is as old as warfare itself. They use to sling human feces, beat holly cats against Egypt's fortified walls, salt the earth or poison wells...

[Cheburashka]

Collecting scabs and puss to infect the healthy. I'm not exactly sure why it worked the way it did but it brought the fatality rate down to 1 or 2% vs the usual 30% or so.

---

Infection through a small wound - 1% death rate.

Infection by inhalation into the mouth and lungs - 30% death rate.

Anthrax has a similar difference between airborne and subcutaneous infection.

[Red6]

Very interesting read.

THX for the post.

[ZULU]

Thanks for that Pharmboy. I remember reading the Brits used that against Indians during Pontiac’s rebellion. Didn’t realize they that they used it against us too. But then they used the indians against us too.

[nkycincinnatikid]

But the english were forced to use such tactics.
Killing up to half of the children of the Boers in concentration camps was unfortunate but after all the Boers were a threat to the entire world.
Starving up to one million central Europeans with blockade AFTER the surrender in 1918 was necessary as the central European powers had of course started the war by their reaction to the assasination of the heir to the Austrian throne.
This is war, or well in the case of the Boers maybe naked english aggression for their land, and in the case of the blockade, not exactly war as the enemy had surrendered,but just mass murder to dictate terms, but War, or not war it is Hell.

[Pharmboy]

Perhaps what you catalog (along with much other Brit-transpired horrors, e.g., against the Irish) has them feeling so guilty that they cannot even arrest and detain criminals these days.

[nkycincinnatikid]

I agree.
The Picture of Dorian Gray describes the situation quite well as well as Wilde certainly expected.

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for the post. The "inoculations" (I know they weren't really) at Valley Forge probably saved the Continental Army.

I have never seen any hard evidence the British actually tried to spread the disease among the rebels. Frankly, it sounds a little like Ward Churchill's claim the U.S. Army tried to kill Indians with "smallpox blankets." More likely is the explanation that the British troops had better immunity from smallpox because it was endemic in Europe. In contrast, smallpox was much more rare in America and our soldiers, especially those from rural areas had no immunity at all.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks Pharmboy and colorado tanker. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[GraceG]

I wonder how much an influence Ben Franklin was in General Washington’s decision.

[Moonman62]

I have never seen any hard evidence the British actually tried to spread the disease among the rebels. Frankly, it sounds a little like Ward Churchill's claim the U.S. Army tried to kill Indians with "smallpox blankets."

Could be. The source of this article is New Scientist and they are wrong more times than they are right.