328; Key West FL– 1,131-1,679

lornajarrettblanchard January 1, 1862

–1,131-1,679 Blanchard tally based on breakouts below.[1]

Summary of State Breakouts Below

Florida ( 86) Key West especially July-late Sep

Louisiana ( 1) Steamship passenger after arrival in New Orleans.

North Carolina (653-1,200) Wilmington August 6-early November

South Carolina ( >25) U.S. Troops at Beaufort, Hilton Head and Port Royal.

Texas ( >328) Especially Sabine Pass and Matagorda and vicinities.

U.S. Navy ( 38) Gulf of Mexico and Key West, FL, waters.

Yellow Fever Deaths, 1862, By State and Locality and Date (where noted):

Florida ( 86) Key West especially July-late Sep

— 2 Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas. NYT. “Important From the Gulf.” 11-12-1862, p. 8.[2]

–80 Key West Blanchard tally from sources below.[3]

— 75 “ June 20-Oct[4] Augustin. History of Yellow Fever, 1909, 455.[5]

— 71 “ U.S. Marine Hosp. Svc. Annual Rpt…FY 1895. 1896, 438.[6]

— 71 “ NYT. “Interesting From Port Royal…” 11-29-1862, p. 1.[7]

— 9 “ residents, by Aug 5 NYT. “Our Key West Correspondence.” 8-11-1862, p. 1.

–~30 “ By Aug 9[8] NYT. “Important From Key West…” 8-17-1862, p. 1.[9]

— 42 “ By Aug 15 NYT. “Later From Key West…Yellow Fever…” 8-23-1862, p23.

— 4 Tampa Augustin. History of Yellow Fever, 1909, 459.

Louisiana ( 1)

–1 New Orleans. Passenger from US steamship Ida days after de-boarding at New Orleans.[10]

–? New Orleans. Three cases reported by May 12.[11]

North Carolina (653-1,200) Wilmington August 6-early November

— 3 Fayetteville Brisson. City of the Dead…1862…Wilmington… p. 16.[12]

— 1,200 Wilmington War Dept. Circular. 1, 1868, xxxiv.

–650-800 “ Brisson. City of the Dead…1862…Wilmington… p. 7.[13]

— 700 “ Trask 2005, 9.

— 446 “ Keating 1979, 102; U.S. Marine Hosp. Svc. 1896, 438.

–111[14] “ Oct 18-24 NYT. “The Yellow Fever in Wilmington, N.C.” 11-19-1862, p.2.[15]

— 10 “ Oct 25 “

— 5 “ Oct 26 “

— 5 “ Oct 27 “

— 9 “ Oct 28 “

— 4 “ Oct 29 “

— 4 “ Oct 30 “

— 3 “ Oct 31 “

South Carolina ( >25) U.S. Troops at Beaufort, Hilton Head and Port Royal.

— >2 Beaufort, [16] NYT. “Interesting From Port Royal…” 11-29-1862, p. 1.

–1 Major General O. M. Mitchell. Oct 30.[17]

–1 Cpt. J. C. Williams, Aid-de-Camp, General Mitchell’s staff.

— ? Charleston New York Times. “The Yellow Fever.” 11-19-1862, p. 4.[18]

— ? Charleston, over 200 cases[19] NYT. “Important From Charleston; The Yellow Fever…” 11-13-1862, p. 1.

— 2 Hilton Head Island, SC. NYT. “Interesting From Port Royal…” 11-29-1862, p. 1.

–1 Col N.W. Brown, Oct 30 (3^rd Rhode Island).

–1 Cpt. L. A. Warfield, Chief Commissary of Subsistence, Oct 29.

–20 Hilton Head Island, SC. Adler/Wills. “The History of Arthropod-Borne…” p. 224.[20]

—>21 Port Royal NYT. “Important From Port Royal.” 11-29-1862, p. 1.[21] —>3 Port Royal NYT. “Interesting From Port Royal.” 11-3-1862, p. 1.[22]

–19 See Narrative Information section, Port Royal/Hilton Head, SC, for names.

Texas ( >328) Especially Sabine Pass and Matagorda and vicinities

— 8 Beaumont Block. “Yellow fever plagued area during 1860s.” 8-7-1999.

–Dr. George Hawley

–Alzinette Hillebandt

–Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hillebrandt

–Mrs. Sylvester Mansfield

–Otto Ruff

–Two unnamed fatalities

— ? Brownsville Bell. “Trans-Mississippi Miasmas…” 2009, p. 6;[23] Sternberg 1890, 45.[24]

— ? Indianola Bell. “Trans-Mississippi Miasmas…” 2009, p. 6; Sternberg 1890, 45.[25]

–120 Matagorda. Keating 1979, p. 102; Sternberg 1890, p. 45; Sternberg 1908, p720.

–150 Sabine Pass. Block. “Yellow fever plagued area during 1860s.” 8-7-1999.[26]

–~50 Spaight’s 11^th Battalion, Texas Volunteers (Confederate). Sabine area?[27]

— ? Sabine City,[28] ~50% population. Bell. “Trans-Mississippi Miasmas…” 2009, pp. 3-4.

U.S. Army ( 80) Key West and Tortugas FL July-Oct[29]

–100 Key West, Tortugas FL, Hilton Head, US Army, July-Oct, War Dept. Cir. 1, 1868, xxxiv.[30]

— ? Key West. Zombek. “A Silent Threat: Key West, Yellow Fever…1862. 10-22-2018.[31]

U.S. Navy, Gulf of Mexico and Key West, FL, waters (38)

— 7 U.S. steamer Huntsville.[32]

— 1 U.S. steamer Magnolia.[33]

— 1 U.S. schooner Planet, escaped Union POW picked up by Mexican ship; transferred to Planet.[34]

–29 U.S. Frigate St. Lawrence, flag-ship of Commodore Lardner, by Sep 19.[35]

Narrative Information

Key West Florida

NYT, Aug 5: “Key West, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 5, 1862….During the last few days our citizens have been somewhat moved by the sudden termination in death of several cases of fever, which have assumed many of the features of yellow fever. Thus far the deaths have been only of those who were spending their first Summer here, and were entirely unacclimated. We do not yet consider that the fever exists as an epidemic, and should our people practice their usual philosophic coolness and avoiding everything like a panic,[36] live temperately and regularly, shunning all extra exposure, we think that it may pass off with a very small number of victims, as has been the case here on several previous occasions. The military command has taken every precaution to guard against epidemic disease; our streets are kept in the best order of cleanliness, private premises are looked after and the owners compelled to keep them free from uncleanliness. Ponds have been filled up, vegetation burned and every cause for vitiated atmosphere has been either removed or modified….

“The writer has been here for twenty years, and become familiar with the disease in all its features, and can safely say that there is every reason to believe that we shall not have any very serious visitation of fever. Several cases which I have watched for three days are of a mild type, and are yielding readily to good treatment. There have been in all nine deaths, by yellow fever, to this day.” (NYT. “Our Key West Correspondence.” 8-11-1862, p. 1.)

NYT, Aug 9: “Key West, Fla., Saturday, Aug. 9, 1862….Cases of yellow fever still continue to terminate fatally, notwithstanding the great precaution taken by the authorities. All vessels from Havana or any infected port, are sent into quarantine for thirty days, and the utmost care is taken to guard against every means of infection or contagion on shore. Unacclimated persons are the victims, and since the first appearance of the disease upon the island, which has been traced to a vessel from Havana, (the bark Adventure, whose mate died in the hospital on the 1st of July,) there have been about thirty cases that have proved fatal, whilst many have recovered and are doing well. Where the cases are taken early, and judiciously treated, there is small danger of fatal termination, and we may set it down that the disease is not in a violent form, when we consider that the population of the island is about 4,000, which includes soldiers and strangers in large proportion, and mostly Northern men, nearly all of whom are much exposed to the hot sun in their daily avocations.

“Reports have been received that the fever is raging quite severely at Havana, and also in a lesser degree at Nassau…” (New York Times. “Important From Key West…Progress of the Yellow Fever…” 8-17-1862, p. 1.)

NYT, Aug 15: “Key West, Fla., Friday, Aug. 15, 1862. The yellow fever still continues to maintain an existence on our island, and some more deaths have taken place with persons not acclimated or resident for more than a few months. Some of them have been quite sudden, where there has been lack of attention to the patient, in applying early remedies well-known and reliable. The whole number of deaths to this day by yellow fever have been forty-two, whilst the recoveries have been far more numerous, showing that the disease is not in a violent form. I would caution all persons at a distance, having friends here, against any unnecessary apprehension, and to take with caution all inflammatory statements regarding the fever here….”

(New York Times. “Later From Key West; Prevalence of Yellow Fever…” 8-23-1862, p. 23.)

NYT, Sep 13: “Key West, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 13, 1862. There seems no abatement of the yellow fever in our midst, and new cases continue to take the places in the hospitals made vacant by the deaths constantly occurring there. Some of them are so filled with patients that it is quite impossible that they shall receive all the care and treatment that is necessary. The Marine Hospital is kept constantly filled, and is now without any resident physician, the late incumbent, Dr. D.A. Lewis, of Philadelphia, having died of the fever on Monday, the 1st inst. Since then the Hospital has been attended only by the Fleet Surgeon from the flagship St. Lawrence, Dr. Horner, whose extensive cares forbid his giving all the attention desirable. The deaths at this Hospital average three daily out of about forty-five patients. Our Northern Doctors are not easily induced to adopt the practice which has, from long experience, become universal here and elsewhere among yellow fever, of giving in the very first symptoms of the disease, a large dose of calomel — say fifty grains — which in most cases, when accompanied by a hot mustard bath producing perspiration, cheeks the fever, and the patient recovers. Some of our Navy Surgeons give but eight or ten grains of calomel; their patients full away, and, as a last resort, they are sent ashore to the Marine Hospital, where most of them soon die.

“….a large proportion of the cases terminate finally. Thus far not a woman or child has died of fever. The General Hospital at the Barracks has one hundred and twenty sick, and some die here daily.

“There have recently died of fever three officers of the Ninetieth Regiment, N.Y.S.V., viz.” Capt. Sullivan, Lieut. Mulligan, and Lieut. Irwin, also Sergt. Ross and Band-master Roswell….

“At this moment I am advised of the death of Lieut. Newton, of the Ninetieth New-York Volunteers, who but three months since returned from a trip to his home in New-York, where he then was married to a young lady, who may from this writing get the first sad news of her bereavement. His case was peculiarly painful, as he was delirious for several days, and died at 3 o’clock this morning.

“The United States steamer Magnolia, Capt. Spotts, returned on the 8th from a short, cruise, having lost one man from fever, and with four more on the sick list, and was sent to the Marine Hospital. The ship still remains in port….

“The frigate St. Lawrence, flag-ship of Commodore Lardner, has suffered greatly from the fever, having lost her Paymaster and his Clerk, the Surgeon’s Steward, and nineteen sailors and marines, and this morning there are forty-six cases of sickness reported on board.

“The United States steamer Huntsville, Capt. Rodgers, still remains in port, subjected to all the means and appliances calculated to eradicate or ward off the epidemic, but with small success, as cases still continue, and yesterday I attended the funeral of her Chief-Engineer. Mr. Rose, of Brooklyn, who died after an illness of only thirty hours. He leaves a wife and two children residing in Brooklyn. The Huntsville has lost three of her officers and four men by fever. This morning there is a marked change in the weather, with a cool fresh breeze from the northwest, producing a very invigorating effect….” (New York Times. “Our Key West Correspondence; The Yellow Fever, Its Ravages Among Soldiers and Sailors…” 9-25-1862, p. 8.)

Wilmington, NC

Brisson on Yellow Fever in Wilmington: “….The deadly pestilence raged in the city for more than two months and turned Wilmington into a virtual ghost town. Introduced into the city by the blockade runner Kate [this was during the Civil War] on August 6, 1862, the epidemic affected every aspect of daily life in Wilmington. It caused unimaginable strife in the city, and this in turn posed a potentially disastrous situation for the Confederacy….” [p.2]

“The Yellow fever epidemic in the autumn of 1862 caused a cessation of supplies from Wilmington to Confederate armies for over a month and posed a threat to their supply base….” [p.3]

“The summer and fall of 1862 also provided their own spark to the outbreak. Between June and October, rains deluged the Lower Cape Fear. As a result, stagnant pools covered much of the town, and the excess water caused flooding in many of the town’s cellars. With so much of the city devoted to helping the war effort, there was little time to worry about properly draining the excess water. This provided a fertile breeding ground for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the pest that spread yellow fever from person to person, and soon Wilmington teemed with the parasites.

“The link that connected Wilmington with the infected port of Nassau was the blockade runner Kate. When the ship arrived in Wilmington on August 6, 1862, some of her crewmen were sick with yellow fever. The Kate remained in town for almost three weeks, and during that time, native Aedes aegypti mosquitoes reportedly bit crewmembers. This set into motion a series of events that crippled Wilmington for more than two months. After a mosquito bit an infected person, it took one to three weeks before the mosquito could transmit the disease. Over the next several weeks, the disease quietly picked up steam until, six weeks after the Kate entered Wilmington, the town found itself in the clutches of an epidemic….

“A mass exodus began, and grand old Wilmington, North Carolina’s largest city with a population of almost 10,000 people, was reduced to only 4,000 inhabitants….” [pp. 5-6]

“Of the 4,000 remaining residents, at least 1,500 and perhaps as many as 2,000, contracted yellow jack. Of those, between 650 and 800 died, which made the mortality rate approximately 40 percent.[37]…. [p.7]

“By mid-October, not a lawyer, court clerk, sheriff, deputy, or jailor remained in town.” [p. 9.]

“One week after doctors announced the presence of yellow fever, the city’s only telegraph office temporarily closed and relocated to Goldsboro. Since the Wilmington Journal was the only newspaper in town at the time and received all of its news via telegraph, the closure of the office severely limited Wilmington’s contact with the outside world. On September 27, the Confederate States Armory in Wilmington also shut down for nearly two months….” [p.10]

“As October gave way to November, colder temperatures finally reached the area and checked the yellow fever virus. By the second week of November, frost had killed mosquitoes that spread the saffron scourge. Although citizens were not aware that mosquitoes were the culprits, they knew that yellow fever retreated after a frost. Thus, citizens began returning to the city, and most businesses and industries reopened by the end of the month….” [p. 18]

Beaufort/Hilton Head/Port Royal, South Carolina

NYT, Aug 20: “From Our Own Correspondent. Hilton-Head, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 1862….

“To obviate, as far as possible, the importation of diseases, especially yellow fever, which, at the present time, is raging at Key West — the southernmost post of the Department — a rigid quarantine has been established by Gen. Hunter. The quarantine is situated in St. Helena Sound, and it is made the duty of every master and pilot coming from whatsoever port, to anchor his vessel at a designated spot until she shall have been visited and received a permit to proceed from Surgeon Crispell, United States Volunteers, who has been appointed Health Officer of the port. A gunboat has also been stationed near the lightship, at the entrance of the harbor, to notify vessels of the sanitary restrictions now in force….” (New York Times. “Preparations for the Savannah Ram; Health of the Troops; Precautions against Yellow Fever…” 8-26-1862, p. 2.)

NYT, Nov 19: “The late frosts which have visited us in the North have also extended down to the far South, and, we may hope, have put an entire stop to the ravages of the yellow fever, which has for the last two or three months raged with considerable virulence at Wilmington, in North Carolina, at Beaufort and Charleston, in South Carolina, and at Key West and other of the Keys in Florida. At Beaufort our army of occupation has suffered from it severely…” (New York Times. “The Yellow Fever.” 11-19-1862, p. 4.)

NYT, Nov 25: “Port Royal, Tuesday, Nov. 25. Three dark weeks of raging pestilence, unrelieved by a cheering ray in the form of news from home, marked the arrival of the steamer Delaware, a week since to-day, with mails and passengers from New-York, an epoch in the history of Port Royal affairs. Unpleasant at all times to be deprived of home news, it was particularly disagreeable to be neglected at such a period of sadness and gloom, and from the time of receiving the mails may be dated the lifting of the pall which rested upon the public mind, ‘and a dawning confidence that the dread fever whose brief visitation had wrought so much disaster, was passing away….

“The last case of the disease occurred on the 10th inst., and within the past few days the mornings have been frosty enough to dissipate whatever malaria may have remained. The fever at no time assumed an epidemic character, but was confined to the neighborhood where the first case appeared…

“The victims of the disease have all been taken from buildings standing within an area of not more than two acres in extent. This ground, bordering on a march, was covered with a rank growth of shrubbery on our arrival, and had been used by the rebel garrison as a depositing place for the refuse of the camp. Store-houses were required by our troops on a much larger scale than those which sufficed for the enemy, and here, after the shrubbery had been cut down, the structures were erected. But the ordinary sanitary precaution in this climate, of raising buildings from the ground and allowing a current of air to pass under them, was not adopted, therefore the Summer heat generated noxious gasses from the decaying roots and animal deposits, which finally becoming impregnated by the mephitic exhalations from the marsh, developed a most virulent type of yellow fever….

“The Quartermaster’s warehouse, in which the fever originated, was closed, and so also were the residence of Gen. Mitchell, the Port Royal Hotel and the building of the Express Company, all adjacent. To these sanitary measures is doubtless due the confinement of the disease to the locality in question, and the consequent safety of the camps from its ravages.

“The fever first appeared at Hilton Head, about the middle of September, when it was imported from Tortugas among some soldiers of the Seventh New-Hampshire Regiment, who came up on the steamer Delaware. The disease was of a mild type, and had entirely disappeared as long as three weeks before the first case of a malignant character developed itself in an employe of the Quartermaster’s Department. Consequently no connection can be traced between the visitations of the disease either as to origin or character. In the first case I am told that the percentage of mortality was very small, while in the latter, out of few more than thirty patients, twenty four died. The medical officers inform me that the sickness of each of the following named victims of the disease may be traced to direct communication with the infected district:

John Downey, civilian Quartermaster’s Department, Oct. 10.

S.P. McKinstry, Co. E, 47th New-York, Oct. 13.

James Wright, Co. D, 97th Pennsylvania, Oct. 24.

Second Lieut. W.B. Manton, Co. D, 3d Rhode Island, Oct. 25.

Wm. H. Hanson, Co. A, 7th Connecticut, Oct. 26.

Wm. H. Harrison, Co. A, 7th Connecticut, Oct. 26.

Philip White, Co. A, 47th New-York, Oct. 27.

Carsten, civilian, Quartermaster’s Department, Oct. 29.

J.G. Huggins, Co. E, 97th Pennsylvania, Nov. 1.

Abner McCartney, Co. F, 97th Pennsylvania, Nov. 1.

Corp. James McConnell, Co. H, 97th Pennsylvania, Nov. 2.

James Findlay, Co. A, 47th New-York, Nov. 2.

Sergt. E. Middleton, Co. B, 97th Pennsylvania, Nov. 4.

Archer C. Towne, Ca. D, 1st Massachusetts Cavalry, Nov. 5.

Capt. John Blake, Co. C, 9th Maine, Nov. 9.

Henry Welsch, Co. H, 3d Rhode Island, Nov. 9.

Lieut. S. Morton, Co, I, 97th Pennsylvania, Nov. 12.

Wm. Wood, Co. I, New-York Engineers, Nov. 13.

Fred. A. Gould, civilian, Adams Express Company, Nov. 13.

“The above list includes three commissioned officers, in addition to whom were the following Staff officers:

Maj.-Gen. O.M. Mitchell, at Beaufort, Oct. 30.

Col. N.W. Brown, 3d Rhode Island, at Hilton Head, Oct. 30.

Capt. L.A. Warfield, at Hilton Head, Oct. 29.

Capt. J.C. Williams, at Beaufort, Oct. 29.

“The aggregate number of deaths in the Department from yellow fever, including those at Key West, during the entire season, was 95.” (New York Times. “Interesting From Port Royal; The Origin, Progress and End of the Yellow Fever. A List of the Deaths From It.” 11-29-1862, p. 1.)

Matagorda, Sabine City, Texas, and Vicinity

Texas Historical Marker on Matagorda: “One of the most important port cities of Texas’ early history, Matagorda served as an exit point for goods such as cotton shipped down the Colorado River. During the Civil War, it was also an important point for Confederate blockade runners to move goods and bypass Union ships. It was also at this time that Yellow Fever made its way into the city. Much like the tropical storms, cases of Yellow Fever swept through Texas coastal communities periodically, doing particular damage to cities like Galveston as part of a larger-scale epidemic that haunted the coast for decades. The worst epidemic period for Matagorda was in the fall of 1862.

“During the Civil War, the continual movement of contraband through Matagorda’s port likely introduced the Aedes Egypti mosquito species to the populace, This species, still a danger today, thrived in the wetlands of Matagorda County. It carried the deadly Yellow Fever, causing extreme symptoms such as jaundice and kidney failure. From September 27 to November 27, 1862, Yellow Fever ravaged the city. Research suggests that as much a one third of the city’s population died from the disease. Further deaths occurred among slave populations throughout the county, but no names of these victims have been recovered. The disease also caused the death of many soldiers throughout the county and neighboring areas. By the time it had subsided, many had been buried in Matagorda Cemetery. Matagorda continues to be an important location for bio-archaeological research into viral outbreaks. (2015) Marker Property of the State of Texas.” (Waymarking.com. “The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1862 — Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com. Posted 1-27-2017.)

Bell on Sabine City and TX coast: “By the autumn of 1862, Sabine City was arguably the most important Confederate seaport in Texas. Situated on a peninsula in the easternmost part of the state that separates Sabine Lake and a river of the same name from the gulf of Mexico….[In] July, a British blockade runner had arrived at the city’s docks from the Gulf and disgorged along with its smuggled cargo the virus which causes yellow fever, one of the most feared diseases of the nineteenth century. By September, a full-blown epidemic was underway in Sabine with between three and six new cases appearing ‘every 24 hours.’ Panicked residents and soldiers alike evacuated the town. Those who fled to Houston and Beaumont were quarantined on the outskirts of both cities as Confederate authorities fretted about the possibility that the outbreak might spread. Mrs. Otis McGaffey lived in Sabine at the time and in later years recalled how her family’s suffering was compounded by the egregious incompetence of local doctors: “[They] seemed to know little if anything about treating the patients, some getting drunk, and useless (as they were afraid of it) [;] others not knowing what to do.” The McGaffeys fled to nearby Weiss’ Bluff, but were turned away by neighbors who were afraid of contracting the disease. The Confederate force guarding Sabine dropped from about 1,800 troops to fewer than eighty. By the last week of September, Crocker’s squadron [Union], consisting of three vessels–the Kensington, the Rachel Seaman, and the Henry Janes–arrived and opened fire on the fort. Irvine, realizing his position was untenable, ordered the guns spiked and withdrew his forces by eight o’clock on the morning of September 25, 1862.

“Crocker soon realized his enemies had retreated and went ashore to raise the Stars and Stripes over Fort Sabine. One of his subordinates, Lewis Pennington, who commanded the Henry Janes and had once lived in Sabine, entered the city and learned from the few dozen residents left that yellow fever had killed “nearly one-half of the population” (including the town’s mayor) and that the disease had forced several hundred rebel troops to withdraw to nearby Beaumont. Pennington and Crocker were shocked to find the dreaded “scourge of the South” raging in Sabine and kept their men “close to their boats” as much as possible during the brief occupation…” [pp. 3-4]

“…Texas experienced more yellow fever epidemics during the war than any other state in the Confederacy. Thousand~ of soldiers stationed in the region shook violently with ‘ague’ or spewed black vomit before drawing their last breath.

“The Sabine yellow fever epidemic was just one of a spate of outbreaks in 1862 that alarmed Union commanders and helped dissuade the North from establishing permanent occupation points along the Texas coastline. “Yellow jack” hit Brownsville, Matagorda, and Indianola in the same year and was rumored to be raging in Houston, Galveston, and at the mouth of the Rio Grande. The disease also threatened Confederate garrisons stationed near the Gulf coast, as the Sabine example shows.,,,” [pp. 5-6]

(Bell, Andrew McIlwaine. “Trans-Mississippi Miasmas: Malaria & Yellow Fever Shaped the Course of the Civil War in the Confederacy’s Western Theater,” East Texas Historical Journal: Vol. 47: Iss. 2, Article 6, 2009.)

Sources

Adler, Peter H. and William Wills. “The History of Arthropod-Borne Human Diseases in South Carolina.” American Entomologist, Winter 2003, pp. 216-228. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi3-6fXl-3lAhWnwVkKHbL0DE4QFjADegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Facademic.oup.com%2Fae%2Farticle-pdf%2F49%2F4%2F216%2F18744217%2Fae49-0216.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2inll32-08GkKjDT5g-6Tp

Augustin, George. History of Yellow Fever. New Orleans: Published for the Author by Search & Pfaff Ltd., 1909; General Books reprint, Memphis, TN, 2010. 1909 copy digitized at: http://archive.org/stream/historyofyellowf00auguuoft#page/n4/mode/1up

Bell, Andrew McIlwaine. “Trans-Mississippi Miasmas: Malaria & Yellow Fever Shaped the Course of the Civil War in the Confederacy’s Western Theater,” East Texas Historical Journal: Vol. 47: Iss. 2, Article 6, 2009. Accessed 11-16-2019 at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2575&context=ethj

Block, W. T. “Yellow fever plagued area during 1860s.” The Enterprise, Beaumont, TX, 8-7-1999. Accessed 11-16-2019 at: http://www.wtblock.com/wtblockjr/yellow_fever.htm

Brisson, Jim D (Univ. of NC, Wilmington). City of the Dead: The 1862 Yellow Fever Epidemic in Wilmington, North Carolina. Madison Historical Review, Vol. 7, 2010. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/the-1862-yellow-fever-epidemic-in-wilmington-north-carolina.152727/

Also at: http://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=mhr

Keating, J. M. A History of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 in Memphis, Tenn. Memphis, TN: Howard Association, 1879. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=WEIJAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Marshall, Jessie Ames. Private and Official Correspondence of Gen. Benjamin F. Butler During The Period Of The Civil War (Vol. II of five), June, 1862-Feb 1863. Norwood MA: Plimpton Press, 1917. Accessed 11-16-2019 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=EnNJAQAAMAAJ&ppis=_e&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

New York Times. “From Port Royal.” 11-5-1862, p. 9. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/11/05/archives/from-port-royal-arrival-of-the-prize-steamer-anglia-death-of-gen.html

New York Times. “Important From Charleston; The Yellow Fever Raging in the City…” 11-13-1862, p. 1. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/11/13/archives/important-fron-charleston-the-yellow-fever-raging-in-the-city-three.html

New York Times. “Important From Key West…Progress of the Yellow Fever…” 8-17-1862, p. 1. Accessed 11-16-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/08/17/archives/important-from-key-west-capture-of-another-prize-steamer-cargo-of.html

New York Times. “Interesting From Port Royal.” 11-3-1862, p. 1. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/11/03/archives/interesting-from-port-royal-the-recent-attack-on-the-charleston-and.html

New York Times. “Interesting From Port Royal; Abatement of the Yellow Fever…” 11-12-1862, p. 8. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/11/12/archives/interesting-from-port-royal-abatement-of-the-yellow-fever-bilious.html

New York Times. “Interesting From Port Royal; The Origin, Progress and End of the Yellow Fever. A List of the Deaths From It.” 11-29-1862, p. 1. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/11/29/archives/important-from-port-royal-the-origin-progress-and-end-of-the-yellow.html

New York Times. “Important From the Gulf.” 11-12-1862, p. 8. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/11/12/archives/important-from-the-gulf-rebel-persecution-of-unionists-in-florida.html

New York Times. “Later From Key West; Prevalence of Yellow Fever…” 8-23-1862, p. 23. Accessed 11-16-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/08/23/archives/later-from-key-west-prevalence-of-yellow-feverprize-cases-vessels.html

New York Times. “New-Orleans and Key West…Appearance of Yellow Fever at Key West…” 8-11-1862, p. 1. Accessed 11-16-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/08/11/archives/neworleans-and-key-west-arrival-of-the-connecticut-with-advices-to.html

New York Times. “News From New-Orleans…Disappearance of Yellow Fever from Key West.” 10-4-1862, p. 1. Accessed 11-1-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/10/04/archives/news-from-neworleans-arrival-of-the-steamship-marion-another.html

New York Times. “Our Key West Correspondence; The Yellow Fever, Its Ravages Among Soldiers and Sailors…” 9-25-1862, p. 8. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/09/25/archives/our-key-west-correspondence-the-yellow-fever-its-ravages-among.html

New York Times. “Preparations for the Savannah Ram; Health of the Troops; Precautions against Yellow Fever…” 8-26-1862, p. 2. Accessed 11-16-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/08/26/archives/preparations-for-the-savannah-ram-health-of-the-troops-precautions.html

New York Times. “The Yellow Fever.” 11-19-1862, p. 4. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/11/19/archives/the-yellow-feverthe-late-frosts-which-.html

New York Times. “The Yellow Fever at Wilmington.” 10-24-1862, p. 9. Accessed 11-16-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/10/24/archives/the-yellow-fever-at-wilmington.html

New York Times. “The Yellow Fever in Wilmington, N.C.” 11-19-1862, p. 2. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/11/19/archives/the-yellow-fever-in-wilmington-nc.html

New York Times. “Yellow Fever on the Southern Coast.” 5-18-1862, p. 4. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-times-may-18-1862-p-4/

Philadelphia Inquirer. “News from Rebel Sources.” 5-19-2862, p. 1. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/philadelphia-inquirer-may-19-1862-p-1/

Sternberg, George Miller (Lt. Col. and Surgeon, U.S. Army). Report on the Etiology and Prevention of Yellow Fever. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1890. Google preview accessed 11-16-2019 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=LpYaAAAAMAAJ&ppis=_e&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

Sternberg, George M. (US Public Health Service, US Marine Hospital Service). “Yellow Fever: History and Geographic Distribution.” Pages 715-722 in Stedman, Thomas L., M.D. (Ed.) Appendix to the Reference Handbook of the Medical Sciences. NY: William Wood & Co., 1908. Google digitized: http://books.google.com/books?id=3ezqX415M5wC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

Trask, Benjamin H. “The World of ‘Septic Vapours:’ Yellow Fever and United States Shipping, 1798-1905.” The Northern Mariner/Le Marin du nord, Vol. XV, No. 2, April 2005, pp. 1-18. Accessed at: http://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol15/tnm_15_2_1-18.pdf

United States Marine Hospital Service, Treasury Department. Annual Report of the Supervising Surgeon-General of the Marine-Hospital Service of the United States for the Fiscal Year 1895 (Document No. 1811). Washington: GPO, 1896. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=aTnxAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

United States War Department. Report on Epidemic Cholera and Yellow Fever in the Army of the United States, During the Year 1867 (Circular No. 1). Washington: DC: War Dept., Surgeon General’s Office, June 10 1868, 161 pages. Digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=RjUAAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Waymarking.com. “The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1862 — Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com. Posted 1-27-2017. Accessed 11-16-2019 at: https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMTZ8E_The_Yellow_Fever_Epidemic_of_1862

Zombek, Angie. “A Silent Threat: Key West, Yellow Fever, and Union Volunteers, 1861-1862. National Museum of Civil War Medicine, 10-22-2018. Accessed 11-15-2019 at: http://www.civilwarmed.org/yellowfever/

[1] Compiled by B. Wayne Blanchard November 2019 for inclusion in website: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com

[2] “There are now no cases of yellow fever on the island [Key West] or in the harbor, and with the cool and favorable weather there is no further apprehension…to it here, but we regret that last week, at Fort Jefferson (Tortugas), there were several cases, two…in death.”

[3] Both the U.S. Marine Hospital Service in its 1895 Annual Report, and the New York Times, on Nov 29, 1862, note 71 U.S. military deaths. The NYT, on Aug 11, 1862 notes nine deaths amongst the residents of Key West. Mentions the U.S. troops at Fort Taylor and notes “their health and habits are scrupulously looked after.” Hints at no deaths amongst the troops (which was yet to come).

[4] A New York Times article including information brought from the U.S. mail steamship Marion, dated Sep 29, notes that “At Key West the fever had entirely abated. On new cases had occurred for a week previous to the Marion’s departure.” (NYT. “News From New-Orleans…Disappearance of Yellow Fever from Key West.” 10-4-1862, p. 1.)

[5] We can not say with certainty, but these, or some portion of these deaths, would appear to be civilians in that prior to the arrival of troops in 1862 from the 47^th Pennsylvania and 90^th and 91^st New York troops, a New York Herald had written that “It is well known that yellow fever has prevailed here,” and was “very fatal.” (Zombek, Angie. “A Silent Threat: Key West, Yellow Fever, and Union Volunteers, 1861-1862. National Museum of Civil War Medicine, 10-22-2018.)

[6] The reporting would reflect only military deaths.

[7] The NYT, after noting 24 deaths in a 2^nd more fatal wave of yellow fever amongst the troops in the Beaufort, Hilton Head, Port Royal area, noted “The aggregate number of deaths in the Department form yellow fever, including those at Key West, during the entire season, was 95. We subtract 24 from 95 to derive 71.

[8] Writes that first death was on July 1, the mate of the bark Adventure, who died in the Key West hospital. Augustin dates the yellow fever at Key West as from June 20 to October.

[9] Does not distinguish between deaths of residents and U.S. troops stationed there.

[10] “The U.S. Steamship Ida, having touched at Nassau [Bahamas] only, and no disease having been reported as existing there at the time of her departure, she was permitted to pass up by the health officers after fumigation and other precautions. The day after her arrival in the city one of her passengers on shore was taken sick and on the sixth day died, an unmistakable case of malignant yellow fever. The most stringent measures were taken to isolate the disease. Everything that touched or was about the deceased was buried, acclimated persons only were allowed to do the sad offices. The house in which he died was most thoroughly purified…” (Page 342 in Marshall, Jessie Ames. Private and Official Correspondence of Gen. Benjamin F. Butler During The Period Of The Civil War (Vol. II of five), June, 1862-Feb 1863. Norwood MA: Plimpton Press, 1917.)

[11] Philadelphia Inquirer. “News from Rebel Sources.” 5-19-2862, p. 1.

[12] These were people who fled Wilmington infected with yellow fever.

[13] See Narrative information for Wilmington, under Brisson.

[14] Our interpretation of statement that the 40 deaths Oct 25-31 marked a decrease of 71 deaths from previous week.

[15] Notes the article is from the Charleston Mercury, SC, dated Nov 4.

[16] Beaufort is only about four miles to the northeast of Port Royal.

[17] New York Times. “Important From Port Royal.” 11-29-1862, p. 1.

[18] Also: New York Times. “Yellow Fever on the Southern Coast.” 5-18-1862, p. 4.

[19] Report of Boston Journal correspondent, arriving on the U.S. steamer South Carolina at Boston, dated Oct. 18.

[20] Highlighted in yellow to denote we do not include in our tally. We are of the opinion that the deaths reported for Hilton Head and Port Royal are one and the same. It would appear, from the New York Times article excerpted in the Narrative Information section that yellow fever came first to Hilton Head from a boat from Tortuga, FL. The U.S. Army had a port at Hilton Head and an encampment at nearby Port Royal just across the Coosawhatchie/ Pocotaligo River, to the northeast. It would appear that a hospital of sorts was at Port Royal and that those who became sick at Hilton Head were brought there. It also appears that many of the infections started in Port Royal.

[21] The number “at least 21” is ours. Twenty-four deaths are reported in the second wave of deaths (out of 30 cases, a high mortality). This reporting, however places two of the deaths specifically in Beaufort and two at Hilton Head (all military). Notes that in the first wave, after importation from Hilton Head, SC. “the percentage of mortality was very small…” For the purpose of contributing to a tally, we assume that the very small percentage of mortality must have been at least one. Thus we add one from first wave and twenty-four from second, for total of >25 (while placing four of those in Beaufort and Hilton Head– all in the same command).

[22] “…it [yellow fever before a frost] had numbered among its victims Capt J.C. Williams, Aid-de-Camp on Gen. Mitchell’s Staff, and Capt. L.A. Warfield, Chief Commissary of Subsistence at this depot.”

[23] “‘Yellow jack’ hit Brownsville, Matagorda, and Indianola in the same year [1862] and was rumored to be raging in Houston, Galveston, and at the mouth of the Rio Grande.”

[24] Sternberg notes Brownsville experienced yellow fever in 1853, 1858, 1862, and 1882. Fatalities are not noted.

[25] Sternberg notes Indianola experienced yellow fever in 1852, 1853, 1858, 1859, 1862, and 1867. Notes fatalities only for 1867 (80).

[26] “…Beaumonters were fortunate to endure only 8 fatalities, as opposed to…150 persons who died at Sabine Pass.”

[27] “It is believed that about 250 Sabine Pass residents contracted the disease, of whom more than half died [over 125]. Very quickly scores of soldiers from Cos. A and B, Spaight’s 11^th Battalion also caught the plague, of whom about 50 died. Capt. K. D. Keith wrote in his memoirs: “…The few able-bodied soldiers had to nurse civilians, and there were not enough soldiers left to bury the dead…””

[28] Now named Sabine Pass, is located about 190 miles northeast of Matagorda on south end of Lake Sabine.

[29] Highlighted in yellow to denote we do not include in our tally, in the belief that these deaths are probably included in the Florida deaths noted above.

[30] Actually notes 100 deaths, including unspecified number at Hilton Head. Another source notes twenty military deaths at Hilton Head, which we note in South Carolina, and thus subtract from 100 noted to derive 80.

[31] “After a summer that witnessed no deaths from yellow fever [troops at Key West], the disease ravaged the 90^th New York in October 1862….The disease took a great toll on the army engineers at Fort Taylor.”

[32] NYT. “Our Key West Correspondence…Yellow Fever…Soldiers and Sailors…” 9-25-1862, p. 8.

[33] NYT. “Our Key West Correspondence…Yellow Fever…Soldiers and Sailors…” 9-25-1862, p. 8.

[34] “On the 16^th September, 1862, the Mexican schooner Iicaltipec arrived from Matamoras, Mexico, having a clean bill of health from the U.S. Consul at that port. The schooner had on board six U.S. soldiers–escaped prisoners from the rebels. On the 21^st of September, Dr. Fisher reported that Pat C. Spark of the 8^th Infy., who came as a passenger on the Iicaltipec, was taken sick with yellow fever, and on the 27^th September Dr. Fisher reports that this man had died the previous day (the 26^th Sept.), black vomit having set in, thus proving to be an unmistakable case of yellow fever…” (Marshall. Private and Official Correspondence of Gen. Benjamin F. Butler During The Period Of The Civil War (Vol. II of five), June, 1862-Feb 1863. Norwood MA: Plimpton Press, 1917.)

[35] NYT. “Our Key West Correspondence…Yellow Fever…Soldiers and Sailors…” 9-25-1862, p. 8. Wrote: “On Friday morning, the 19^th, a hearse was again seen upon the naval wharf, receiving the remains of Commodore Lardner’s Secretary, Mr. Rossman, from the flag-ship St. Lawrence, where he died a victim to the yellow fever. This is the fifth officer who has died on board the St. Lawrence within a few weeks of the fever, and they have also lost twenty-four of the men. Yet the Commodore remains unmoved, and apparently unwilling to yield or retreat, even though the insidious foe has such complete possession of his quarters, and thus secretly and quietly claims his victims. It is thought that a trip to the North or removal of the crew on shore would be the means of warding off disease, and perhaps death….This has been the second case of a vessel arriving from Matamoras with a clean bill of health from Mr. L. Pierce, Jr., the U.S. Consul, while it is a well-known fact that a severe epidemic of yellow fever existed during this season along the whole coast of Texas and Mexico.” (Letter of Charles McCormick, Medical Director, Dept. of the Gulf, New Orleans, 10-25-1862, to Major General B. F. Butler, U.S. Army, Commanding, Dept. of Gulf, p. 421 in: Marshall. Private and Official Correspondence of Gen. Benjamin F. Butler During The Period Of The Civil War (Vol. II of five), June, 1862-Feb 1863. Norwood MA: Plimpton Press, 1917.)

[36] Some believed at the time that an excited mental state somehow contributed to the onset of yellow fever.

[37] Brisson footnote 14: “There is no definitive record of how many people contracted and died from yellow fever during the epidemic. The Wilmington Journal estimated that 654 people died, but this is certainly a conservative estimate because they based their estimates almost solely on the number of interments at Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington’s local graveyard. To further complicate matters, the overseer of Oakdale Cemetery, Charles Quigley, died on October 17, and his assistant contracted yellow fever shortly thereafter, so the records of Oakdale became unreliable. The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion estimated that 800 Wilmingtonians died during the epidemic, which seems a little high. Thus, the death toll was somewhere between 650 and 800.”