Bacteria and Bayonets by David Petriello

Author:David Petriello
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / United States
ISBN: 9781612003429
Publisher: Casemate Publishers & Book Distributors, LLC
Published: 2015-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

Overall, disease would again kill more soldiers than bullets or bayonets during the war. It has been estimated that as many as three-quarters of all American and British casualties resulted from pestilence. General G. Izard’s pronunciation of mortality rates from disease as “prodigious” remains an understatement.52 In addition, much as in the American Revolution, disease drove and shaped the strategies and campaigns of the war. The various illnesses of the northern border clearly played a major role in denying the Americans acquisition of Canada and allowing for that country’s eventual independence.

A few final vignettes of interest concern the action at Baltimore in September of 1814 that resulted in not only the destruction of the White House but the creation of America’s national anthem. Admiral Alexander Cochrane’s mission was to land a force under General Robert Ross for a quick assault on Washington D.C. The White House, Capitol, and most other public buildings within the city were set afire and destroyed by this advancing British force. The famous story of First Lady Dolly Madison saving various priceless artifacts from the White House is still a debated subject. Regardless of the veracity of the stories surrounding her, the patriotic and determined wife of the president would not have been able to save anything had her first husband not died from yellow fever during the great Philadelphia outbreak of 1793. Shortly after his death she met and married James Madison, carrying her into the White House a decade later. Following the success of his mission against the capital, Cochrane had wanted to remove the entire fleet from Chesapeake Bay in late August to avoid the onset of yellow fever and malaria, preferring instead the pestilence-free harbors of Rhode Island. General Ross convinced the admiral to remain and attempt to assault Baltimore, but the debate between Ross and Cochrane delayed the operation by almost eight hours.53 The subsequent attack on Fort McHenry would be a failure for Cochrane and the concurrent assault by Ross on North Point would result in his death. More importantly for American culture, Francis Scott Key during this battle made his famous trip out to the British fleet to help free Dr. William Beanes, a local physician who had been captured and imprisoned by the English.

Disease helped to ensure the growth of the nation with the purchase of Louisiana. Yet as has been seen with the failure to take Canada, pestilence also began to define limitations for the nation’s expansion under then-current medical beliefs and practices. An evolution in medical understanding and changes in medical practices would be needed before the country could begin to combat contagion and prosper.

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