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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices
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To: combjelly who wrote (1573737)11/26/2025 2:12:30 PM
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Washington Ordered Mandatory Smallpox Inoculation (1777)

By early 1777, smallpox was devastating the Continental Army far more effectively than British bullets. Washington had personally contracted smallpox as a teenager and understood both its danger and the protection immunity provided.

What he did:
  • He issued a mandatory order that all troops—new recruits and those not previously infected—be inoculated (a primitive form of vaccination).

  • Locations included Philadelphia, Morristown, and several Virginia and New England encampments.
Why:
  • Smallpox outbreaks had crippled American forces during the failed Quebec campaign.
  • British troops, many of whom had immunity, were not affected as severely.
  • Washington believed smallpox threatened the Revolution more than the British Army itself.
How:
  • Soldiers were rotated into inoculation hospitals.
  • Commanders were instructed to conceal the process from the British.
  • Newly enlisted soldiers were inoculated before joining main forces.
This Was the First Large-Scale Mandatory Medical Intervention in U.S. Military History Washington’s mandate:
  • Was compulsory, not voluntary.
  • Was strategically motivated to preserve fighting capacity.
  • Reduced smallpox deaths drastically and changed the course of the war.
Historians widely credit the policy as a turning point that helped save the Continental Army.

The Procedure Was Risky by Modern Standards This was variolation, not vaccination:
  • Live smallpox material was introduced via a cut in the skin.
  • Mortality of variolation was about 1–2%, compared to 20–30% for natural smallpox.
  • Troops were quarantined during recovery.
Even with the risks, the mandate was considered essential.

Yes—George Washington mandated smallpox inoculation for American troops in 1777.

It was a decisive military health-order that protected soldiers, stabilized the army, and is considered one of the most consequential public-health decisions of the Revolutionary War.

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