1811 — Yellow Fever Epidemic, New Orleans, LA — >500

— >500  Carrigan. The Saffron Scourge. 1961, p. 54.[1]

 

Narrative Information

 

Barton: “”The next most extensive yellow fever epidemic occurred during the cleaning out the same canal in 1811.”[2] (p.100)

 

Carrigan: “Although the records of yellow fever’s visits in the early 1800’s are rather sketchy and sometimes contradictory, during the first two decades of the century New Orleans experienced at least five major outbreaks of the disease: 1804, 1809, 1811, 1817, and 1819.” [p. 40]

 

“The next major epidemic of the early nineteenth century occurred in 1811. In mid-August Governor Claiborne noted that the ‘Fevers of New-Orleans’ had already commenced with ‘Symptoms which forbode much mortality.[3] ….

 

“In a letter of October 8 the Governor informed President Madison that New Orleans continued under the influence of ‘that dreadful Scourge, the Yellow Fever,’ and, as usual, the newcomers suffered the greatest losses, although the old settlers were not entirely exempt from attack. To the Secretary of the Navy in late October he wrote that the fever, still raging, had proved highly destructive to the Marine Corps, having carried off two valuable officers and more than a third of the privates.[4]….

 

“Reports from the Protestant sexton, the manager of Charity Hospital, and Father Antoine added up to a total mortality of 210 in August and 262 in September, and the city recorder listed 241 deaths during the month of October. Of the 713 fatalities during the three-month epidemic period of 1811, probably 500 or more represent yellow fever deaths.” [pp. 51-54]

 

Sources

 

Barton, Edward H., MD. The Cause and Prevention of Yellow Fever at New Orleans and other Cities in America (Third Edition, with a Supplement). New York: H. Bailliere; London and Paris, 1857. Google preview accessed 3-14-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=yEJZDrCO-ZkC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Carrigan, Jo Ann. The Saffron Scourge: A History of Yellow Fever in Louisiana, 1796-1905 (Doctoral Dissertation). Louisiana State University, LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses, 1961. Accessed 3-11-2018 at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1665&context=gradschool_disstheses

 

 

[1] Citing, in footnote 47: New Orleans Louisiana Courier, Oct 2, Nov 6, 1811; Louisiana Gazette, Nov 5, 1811.

[2] Preceding paragraph dealt with “The first epidemic yellow fever that is recorded her, is that simultaneous with excavating the earth, in digging the Canal Carondelet, and more especially its basin in 1797.”

[3] Claiborne to Gallatin, August 19, 1811, Carter (ed.). Territory of Orleans, p. 944.

[4] Carrigan, in footnote 45, cites: Claiborne to Madison, October 8, 1811, Carter (ed.), Territory of Orleans, p. 948; Claiborne to Paul Hamilton, October 28, 1811, Rowland (ed.), Claiborne Letter Books, V, p. 369.