Skip to main content

Military Health System

Test of Sitewide Banner

This is a test of the sitewide banner capability. In the case of an emergency, site visitors would be able to visit the news page for addition information.

Gen. George Washington Ordered Smallpox Inoculations for All Troops

Image of Old photo of George Washington in battle. George Washington rallies his troops at the Battle of Monmouth in a painting by Emanuel Leutze, 1857 (Courtesy of the Library of Congress).

In late 1776, as Gen. George Washington led his troops through the opening battles of the American Revolution, it was not necessarily the enemy fighters who posed the biggest risk to the fledgling U.S. Army.

An estimated 90% of deaths in the Continental Army were caused by disease, and the most vicious were variants of smallpox, according to the U.S. Library of Congress.

That's why Gen. Washington made the controversial decision to order the mass inoculation of his soldiers, an effort to combat spread of the disease that was at the time a major deterrent to enlistments and posed the risk of debilitating his army and tipping the balance of power against America's first warfighters.

According to the U.S. Library of Congress's Science, Technology, and Business Division, the smallpox inoculations began Jan. 6, 1777, for all of Washington's forces who came through the then-capital of Philadelphia, and through Morristown, New Jersey, following the Battle of Princeton.

Smallpox is a potentially fatal disease that starts with fever and vomiting and an outbreak of ulcers in the mouth and a skin rash. The skin rash turns into highly contagious fluid-filled blisters. The fatality rate was very high.

Inoculations were far more primitive - and dangerous - than today's vaccinations. The most common method was to cut a person's skin and rub the minor incision with a thread or cloth contaminated with a less-virulent version of smallpox, which in this case was a strain known as "variola."

At the time, most English troops were immune to variola, and their immunity gave them an "enormous advantage against the vulnerable colonists," according to the library. By contrast, less than a quarter of the American colonial troops had ever had the virus.

Washington knew a mass inoculation campaign could backfire and might cause more disease than it prevented. He also feared the mandatory inoculations would harm recruitment.

Nevertheless, after weighing the odds, Washington informed Congress on Feb. 5, 1777, of his plans for a mass inoculation. The general's plans contraindicated a 1776 proclamation by the Continental Congress prohibiting inoculations.

A Feb. 6 letter to Dr. William Shippen from Washington states: "Finding the smallpox to be spreading much and fearing that no precaution can prevent it from running through the whole of our Army, I have determined that the troops shall be inoculated. This expedient may be attended with some inconvenience and some disadvantages but yet I trust its consequences will have the most happy effects. Necessity not only authorizes but seems to require the measure, for should the disorder infect the Army in the natural way and rage with its usual virulence, we have more to dread from it than from the sword of the enemy."

Throughout February, the inoculations across the entire force were carried out in the model of the initial efforts in Morristown and Philadelphia.

Washington's strategy was largely successful.

"The isolated infections that sprung up among Continental regulars during the southern campaign failed to incapacitate a single regiment," the Library reported.

You can read more on the first mass military inoculation at the Library of Congress's Science section.

You also may be interested in...

Overview of Coast Guard Health Services

Presentation
2/9/2017

Overview of Coast Guard Health Services

Defense Health Agency Overview

Presentation
2/9/2017

Defense Health Agency Overview

Overview of Navy Medicine

Presentation
2/9/2017

Overview of Air Force Medical Service

Presentation
2/9/2017

Overview of Air Force Medical Service

Defense Health Board History

Presentation
11/1/2016

Defense Health Board History briefing to the Defense Health Board, Nov. 1, 2016.

Accomplishments and Critical Lessons Learned Regarding Department of Defense H1N1 Influenza Report

Presentation
11/2/2010

Accomplishments and Critical Lessons Learned Regarding Department of Defense H1N1 Influenza Report briefing presented to the Defense Health Board Nov. 2, 2010

Measles Mumps Rubella and Smallpox Anthrax Vaccine Recommendations

Presentation
8/18/2010

Measles Mumps Rubella and Smallpox Anthrax Vaccine Recommendations briefing presented to the Defense Health Board Aug. 18, 2010

Inclusion of Measles Mumps Rubella Vaccine in Navy Accessions Screening and Immunizations Program

Presentation
6/8/2010

Inclusion of Measles Mumps Rubella Vaccine in Navy Accessions Screening and Immunizations Program briefing presented to the Defense Health Board June 8, 2010

Joint Preventive Medicine Policy Group Response to the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response

Presentation
3/1/2010

Joint Preventive Medicine Policy Group Response to the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response briefing presented to the Defense Health Board March 1, 2010

Review of Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Subpanel Recommendations

Presentation
8/17/2009

Review of Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Subpanel Recommendations presented to the Defense Health Board Aug. 17, 2009

Vaccine Safety and Effectiveness Report

Presentation
5/7/2009

Vaccine Safety and Effectiveness Report presented to the Defense Health Board May 7, 2009

Vaccine Safety and Effectiveness Workgroup Update

Presentation
9/4/2008

Vaccine Safety and Effectiveness Workgroup Update presented to the Defense Health Board Sept. 4, 2008

Military Vaccine Program Update Vaccine Healthcare Centers

Presentation
4/24/2008

Military Vaccine Program Update Vaccine Healthcare Centers presented to the Defense Health Board April 24, 2008

DoD Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Update

Presentation
4/23/2008

DoD Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Update presented to the Defense Health Board April 23, 2008

Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Update

Presentation
4/23/2008

Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Update presented to the Defense Health Board April 23, 2008

Page 1 of 2 , showing items 1 - 15
First < 1 2 > Last 
Refine your search
Last Updated: January 25, 2023
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery