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Mount Sinai (Hardcover)
Ann M. Becker
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R842
R691
Discovery Miles 6 910
Save R151 (18%)
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In Revolutionary America: Washington's Army, Disease and Society,
the author argues that smallpox played an integral role in military
affairs for both the British and Continental armies, and impacted
soldiers and civilians throughout the War for American
Independence. Due to the Royal army's policy of troop inoculation
and because many British soldiers were already immune to the
variola virus, the American army was initially at a disadvantage.
Most American colonists were highly susceptible to this dreaded
disease, and its presence was greatly feared. General George
Washington was keenly aware of this disadvantage and, despite his
own doubts, embarked on a policy of inoculation to protect his
troops. Use of this controversial, innovative, and effective
medical procedure leveled the playing field within the armies.
However, by 1777, however smallpox spread throughout America as
soldiers interacted with civilian populations. Once military action
moved south, American and British auxiliary troops and the enslaved
Southern population all succumbed to the disease, creating a
disorderly, dangerous situation as the war ends. Washington's
implementation of isolation policies as well as mass troop
inoculation removed the threat of epidemic smallpox and ultimately
protected American soldiers and civilians from the dangers of this
much feared disease.
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