1867 — Jul-Dec, Yellow Fever, esp. New Orleans, Galveston/Houston; also AL, FL, MS, TN–>10,012
—>10,012 Blanchard compilation based on sources below.
Summary of State Breakouts Below
Alabama ( >26) Sep-Dec 1 Principally Mobile and Fort Morgan
Florida ( 111) July-Dec Principally Pensacola, Tampa, Tortugas
Louisiana (3,593) July-Nov Esp. New Orleans; also Shreveport, Washington
Mississippi ( >19) 10 in Pass Christian
Tennessee ( 550)
Texas (5,713) June-early Dec. Many locations, esp. Galveston and Houston
Breakout of 1867 Yellow Fever Deaths by State and Locality
Alabama ( >26) Sep-Dec 1
–13 Mobile Sep-Oct 23 Blanchard tally
–6 “ (citizens) Sep US War Dept. Circular No. 1, Appendix p. 146.[1]
–1 “ Sep 17 US War Dept. Circular No. 1, p. 146.[2]
–5 “ Oct. US War Dept. Circular No. 1, Appendix p. 146.[3]
–1 “ Oct 23. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Miscellaneous.” 10-25-1867, p. 2.[4]
— 1 Fort Gaines Dec 1 US War Dept. Circular No. 1, Appendix p. 146.[5]
–12 Fort Morgan Aug 13-Sep. US War Dept. Circular No. 1, pp. 77, 145-146. [6]
Florida ( 114) July-Dec
— 1 Barrancas US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 78.
— 2 Key West US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 78.
–34 Pensacola Keating. A History of… 1879, 91; USMHS 1896, 438.
— 1 Tallahassee Sep-Oct Augustin. History of Yellow Fever, 1909, 458.
–38 Tampa July 4, 1st case. Augustin. History of Yellow Fever, 1909, 458.
–38 Tortugas Aug-Dec Keating 1879, p. 91; US War Dept. Circular 1, p. 79.
Louisiana (3,593) July-Nov
— 3,593 State. Blanchard tally from breakouts below
— 2 Alexandria US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
— 2 Baton Rouge US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 75.
— 70 New Iberia. July-Aug. Carrigan. The Saffron Scourge. 1961, pp. 163-165.[7]
— 3,320 New Orleans. Carrigan. The Saffron Scourge. 1961, p. 159-160. (NOLA & troops).[8]
— 3,107 “ Augustin. History of Yellow Fever, 1909, p. 50.
— 3,107 “ July start.[9] Carrigan. The Saffron Scourge. 1961, p. 159.[10]
— 3,093 “ Keating 1879, p. 91; NYT, “Yellow Fever,” 10-7-1888;
— 3,093 “ Sternberg 1908, p. 719; US Marine HS 1896, p. 438.
–<3,000 “ US War Dept. Report on Epidemic…Circular 1, 1868, xxiii.
— 9 “ July 29-Aug 4 Flake’s Daily Galveston Bulletin, TX. 8-13-1867, p. 2.
— 14 “ Aug 9-15 Milwaukee News, WI. “From New Orleans.” 8-16-1867, p1.[11]
— 358 “ Sep 9-15 NYT. “The Old Year. Chronology of 1867,” 1-1-1868, p. 2.
— 489 “ Sep 23-29 Galveston News, TX. “Mortuary” 10-26-1867, p. 1.[12]
— 355 “ Oct 7-13 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Mortuary” Oct 26, 1867, p. 1.
— 235 “ Oct 14-20 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Mortuary” Oct 26, 1867, p. 1.
— 35 “ Oct 21 Galveston News, TX. “Miscellaneous,” Oct 23, 1867, 2.
— 1 Opelousas US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
— 124 Shreveport U.S. War Dept. Circ. 1, 1868, xxiv.
— ~100 “ Galveston Daily News, TX. “The News,” Dec 3, 1867, p. 1.
— 1 Vidalia, LA US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 75.
— >73 Washington. Sep-Oct. Carrigan. The Saffron Scourge. 1961, pp. 163 and 166.[13]
Mississippi ( >19) Summer-Fall
—>19 Statewide Blanchard tally from breakouts below.
— 1 Jackson US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 76.
— 11 Pass Christian Ellis. “Worst Tragedy.” All About Camille. 2016 update.[14]
— 5 Pass Christian & Winchester US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
— 3 Ship Island US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
— 4 Vicksburg US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 76.
Tennessee ( 550)
–500-550 Memphis U.S. Nat. Board of Health. Annual Report of…1879, p. 253.
— 231 “ Keating 1879, p. 91; NYT, Oct 7, 1888.
— 7 “ Oct 15 Galveston News, TX. “Miscellaneous,” Oct 17, 1867, 2.
— 8 “ Oct 27 Galveston News, TX. “Miscellaneous,” Oct 30, 1867, 2.
— 9 “ Oct 30 Galveston News, TX. “Miscellaneous,” Oct 31, 1867, 2.
Texas (>5,713) June-early Dec
–5,713 Statewide Blanchard tally from breakouts below.
— 200 Alleyton Carroll. “Yellow Fever.” TX State Jour. of Med., I/2, Aug 1905, p73.
–45 “ Keating 1879, p. 91.
— 3 Austin[15] Sep[16] Galveston News, TX. “Letter from Austin,” Oct 4, 1867.
— 3 Bastrop Oct 15 Galveston News, TX. “Texas Items,” 10-30-1867, p. 2.
— 500 Brenham Cox. Texas Disasters. 2006, p. 17.[17]
–120 “ Aug[18] Sternberg 1908, p. 720.
— ? Brownsville early Oct US War Dept. Circular No. 1, Appendix p. xxi and 145.
— 3 Bryan early Oct Galveston Daily News, TX. Oct 11, 1867, p. 2.
— 250 Calvert Sternberg 1908, p. 720
— 123 Chapel Hill Keating 1879, 91; Sternberg 1908, p. 720
–95 “ Galveston News, TX. “Texas Items,” Dec 14, 1867, p. 2.
— 132 Columbia Sternberg 1908, 720.
— 300 Corpus Christi Cox. Texas Disasters. 2006, p. 16. (~1/3 of population)
–300 “ Stopandvisittx. “Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1867.”[19]
— 70 “ by Aug 16 Rozeff. “Yellow Fever in the Valley.” Valley Morning Star, 8-7-2016.[20]
— ~3 “ ~Aug 16 Galveston Daily News. “The Fever.” 8-16-1867, p. 2.[21]
— 1 “ Sep 21 Galveston News, TX. Oct 13, 1867, p. 2.
–1,180 Galveston (civilians) U.S. War Dept. Circular 1, 1868, xx, citing Dr. Bacon.
–1,150 “ Carroll. “Yellow Fever.” TX State Jour. of Med., I/2, Aug 1905, p73.[22]
–1,150 “ Keating 1879, 91; NYT, 10-7-1888; Sternberg 1908, 719; USMHS 1896, 438.
–1,100 “ Block. “Some Notes on Our Texas Germanic…” 2007.
— 1 “ June 28 (1st civ. case). US War Dept. Circular No. 1, Appendix p. xix.[23]
— ? “ July 1 (1st mil. case). US War Dept. Circular No. 1, Appendix p. xx.
— 81 “ Aug 3-10 NYT. “The Old Year. Chronology of 1867,” 1-1-1868, p. 2.
— 18 “ Aug 11 Flake’s Galveston Bulletin. “Local Intel…” 8-13-67, 2.[24]
— 13 “ Aug 13 Galveston Daily News, TX. “The City.” 8-14-1867, p. 3.[25]
— 28 “ Aug 14 Galveston News, TX. “Mortality Report.” 8-15-1867, p. 3.
— 20 “ Aug 15 Flake’s Galveston Bulletin. “Local Intel…” 8-16-1867, 5.[26]
— 26 “ Aug 16 Galveston News, TX. “Mortality Report.” 8-17-1867, p.3.[27]
— 28 “ Aug 17 Galveston News, TX. “Mortuary Report.” 8-18-1867, p.3.[28]
— 17 “ Sep 5 Dubuque Daily Herald, IA. “Yellow Fever,” 9-7-1867, p.1.
— 999 “ by Sep 22 NYT. “The Old Year. Chronology of 1867,” 1-1-1868, p. 2.
— 1 “ Nov 1 (last mil. death). US War Dept. Circular No. 1, Appendix p. xx.[29]
— 3 “ Nov 27 Galveston Daily News, TX. “The City,” 11-28-1867, p. 3.
— 25 Goliad (mostly Oct, civilians). U.S. War Dept. Circular 1, 1868, xx,
–16 “ up to Nov 1 Galveston Daily News, TX. 11-2-1867, p. 2.
— 51 Hempstead Aug-Dec[30] Keating 1879, p. 91; Sternberg 1908, p. 720.
— 13 Harrisburg Sep 26-Oct 5 Blanchard tally of reporting below.
–1 “ Sep 26 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Obituary,” Oct 8, 1867, p. 2.
–3 “ Sep 27 Galveston Daily News, TX. 9-29-1867, p. 2.
–1 “ Sep 28 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Obituary,” 10-8-1867, p. 2.
–2 “ Oct 3 Galveston Daily News, TX. Oct 8, 1867, p. 2.
–5 “ Oct 4 Galveston Daily News, TX. Oct 8, 1867, p. 2.
–1 “ Oct 5 Galveston Daily News, TX. Oct 8, 1867, p. 2.
–1,900 Houston Block 2007.
— 1 “ Aug 14 (1st) Galveston News, TX. “Echoes…Houston.” 8-16-1867, 2.[31]
— 1 “ Sep 7 (1st mil. case). US War Dept. Circular No. 1, Appendix p. xx.[32]
–10 “ Oct 6 Galveston News, TX. “Echoes from Houston,” 9 Oct 1867.
— 5 “ Oct 7 a.m. Galveston News, TX. “Echoes from Houston,” 9 Oct 1867.
–13 “ Nov 10 week. Galveston News, TX. [Yellow Fever, Houston] 11-15-1867, 1.
— 3 “ Nov 11-12. Galveston News, TX. [Yellow Fever, Houston] 11-15-1867, 1.
— 5 “ Nov 20 Galveston News, TX. “Letter from Houston.” 11-26-1867, 4.
— 130 Huntsville Keating 1879, p. 91; Sternberg 1908, p. 720.
— 1 “ Aug 9 Galveston News, TX. “From Huntsville,” Nov 14, 1867.
— 60 “ up to Sep 27 Galveston News, TX. “Letter from Huntsville,” 10-9-1867.
— 1 “ ~Oct 16 Galveston Daily News, TX. Oct 17, 1867, p. 2.
–130 “ up to Nov 5 Galveston News, TX. “From Huntsville,” Nov 14, 1867.
— 1 “ Nov 5 Galveston News, TX. “From Huntsville,” Nov 14, 1867.
— 80 Indianola Keating 1879, p. 91; Sternberg 1908, p. 720.
–~75 “ Carroll. “Yellow Fever.” TX State Jour. of Med., I/2, Aug 1905, p. 73.[33]
— 2 “ late May-early June. US War Dept. Circular No. 1, Appendix p. xix.
— 14 “ June-Oct (military). US War Dept. Circular No. 1, Appendix p. xix.
— 1 Independence[34] Galveston News, TX. “Letter…Bolivar Ward,” 12-12-1867.
— 1 Jefferson (two cases) US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
— 204 La Grange Rost, accessed 12-12-2008; Cox. TX Disasters, 206, p.17.[35]
–200 “ Keating 1879, p. 91; Sternberg 1908, p. 720.
— 7 “ Aug Galveston News, TX. “Texas Items,” Dec 18, 1867, p. 2.
–120 “ Sep Galveston News, TX. “Texas Items,” 12-18-1867, p. 2.
— 28 “ Oct Galveston News, TX. “Texas Items,” Dec 18, 1867, p. 2.
— 4 Liberty Oct Galveston News, TX. “Letter From Liberty,” 12/4/1867, 1.
— >10 Millican[36] Blanchard “stand-in” estimate.[37]
–4 “ Keating 1879, p. 91.
–9 “ Sep 30-Oct 6. Galveston Daily News, TX. Oct 11, 1867, p. 2.
— 154 Navasota Keating 1879, 91; Sternberg 1908, 720.
— 2 “ July Galveston News, TX. “The Fever in Navasota,” 11-2-1867.
— 15 “ Aug Galveston News, TX. “The Fever in Navasota,” 11-2-1867.
–118 “ Sep Galveston News, TX. “The Fever in Navasota,” 11-2-1867.
— 34 “ Oct Galveston News, TX. “The Fever in Navasota,” 11-2-1867.
–169 “ July-Oct Galveston News, TX. “The Fever in Navasota,” 11-2-1867.
— 1 Ringgold Barracks US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
— 150 Rio Grande City Keating 1879, p. 91; Sternberg 1908, p. 720.
— >200 Victoria Aug-Oct[38] Keating 1879, 91; Sternberg 1908, 720; Galveston News, 12-14-1867, 2.
— 1 Yorktown ~Oct 4 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Yellow Fever in Victoria, 10-15-1867.
U.S. Army ( 466)
–466 U.S. Military. Blanchard tally from US War Dept. Circular No. 1, pp. 76-80.[39]
–453 U.S. Army War Department Circular 1. 1868, xxvi.
— 20 Alabama
— 1 Fort Gaines US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 78.
–12 Fort Morgan US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 77.
— 7 Mobile US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 77.
— 36 Florida
— 1 Barrancas US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 78.
–32 Fort Jefferson, Tortugas. US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 79.
— 2 Key West US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 78.
— 1 Tallahassee US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 79.
–239 Louisiana
— 2 Alexandria US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80
— 2 Baton Rouge US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 75.
–233 New Orleans US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. xxiii.
–195 New Orleans white troops.
— 23 New Orleans black troops.
— 15 New Orlenas white seamen.
— 1 Opelousas US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
— 1 Vidalia, LA US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 75.
— 13 Mississippi
–1 Jackson US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 76.
–5 Pass Christian & Winchester US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
–3 Ship Island US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
–4 Vicksburg US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 76.
— 1 Tennessee, Memphis US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 77.
–157 Texas
— 1 Austin US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
— 2 Brenham US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 73.
–81 Galveston US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, xxvi & 80
–79 White. US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. xxvi.
— 2 Black. US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
–25 Houston US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, xxvii.
–29 Hempstead US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 73.
–14 Indianola US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 71.
— 1 Jefferson US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
— 1 Ringgold Barracks US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 80.
— 4 Victoria US War Dept. Circular No. 1, 1868, p. 71.
Narrative Information — General
US Army Circular 1: “The reports indicate clearly two foreign sources from which the disease was imported into the United States last year [1867] — Vera Cruz, Mexico, and Havana, Cuba. From Mexico it was brought to Indianola, and thence to other points in Texas. At all other stations it seems to have been brought directly or indirectly from Havana; and it is worthy of remark that the cases here indicated as of Mexican origin were more fatal than those of Cuban origin, two out of every five cases of the former dying, while the mortality of the latter was but two out of seven. The ration of deaths was 400 per thousand cases for the first of these group-s, 284 per thousand for the second.
“From Indianola the pestilence was carried to Galveston, and from each of these points it spread towards the interior of the State, along the chief routs of travel, being carried from Indianola to Victoria and Goliad; from Galveston to Houston, Hempstead, Brenham, and Austin….” [xviii]
“The fever was first introduced at New Orleans from Havana. It spread from New Orleans to Ship island, to Baton Rouge, and to all the other places in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee where cases are reported. At Key West and at Fort Jefferson, Tortugas, it was introduced directly from Havana.”
“The following paragraphs present a sketch of the facts attending the appearance of the disease at each of these posts:
“In the latter part of the month of May, an infected schooner from Vera Cruz, Mexico, arrived at Indianola and landed bedding and other articles; four days afterwards, two of the workmen who handled these effects were taken sick with yellow fever; both died. The disease subsequently spread among the citizens; at first in the neighborhood of the wharf at which the schooner landed, afterwards extending from house to house up Main street. The company of troops on duty at the post was stationed to the southwest of the town, and escaped until the 16th of June, when two men who had been employed guarding quartermaster’s property in the town were taken sick, and communicated the disease to the camp. During July other cases occurred, and the medical officer in charge, Acting Assistant Surgeon S. Santoire, recommended the removal of the command to Green Lake, twenty-two miles distant. This was done July 28th, leaving but a small detachment at Indianola, composed chiefly of men who had had the fever. Two cases occurred at Green Lake shortly after the detachment reached there, but none subsequently.
“Towards the close of October, a detachment of the 35th Infantry, who had broken up their camp at Victoria, Texas, on account of the prevalence of yellow fever, arrived at Indianola; their arrival was followed by four cases and one death. There were in all 29 cases and 14 deaths among the troops near Indianola. The epidemic at Indianola was at first imagined to be bilious remittent fever, as has so often happened on the first appearance of epidemic yellow fever.”
[pp. xviii-xix]
Alabama
Alabama Genealogy Trails: “1867. Epidemic in Mobile, with a few sporadic cases in Montgomery, and also at Fort Morgan. The disease appeared at all three places August 13. No statistics are available; but infection from New Orleans. 1870. Sporadic cases at Montgomery and Whiting, with a mild epidemic at Mobile. Cases at Montgomery, August 22 to November 19; at Mobile, August 27 to November 19; and among refugees at Whiting about the same period. Infection was from Havana.” (Alabama Genealogy Trails. Alabama Epidemic History. “Yellow Fever.” 2015.)
Tennessee
Sep 8: “Memphis, Sept. 8. The tow boat Mohawk…arrived this morning from New Orleans with several cases of yellow fever on board. One of the passengers died while the boat was at the wharf. The Mayor ordered the boat to leave. Her crew are down with fever. A quarantine will be established to-morrow.” (Freeport Daily Journal, IL. 9-9-1867, p. 4.)
Texas
Chappell Hill/Chapel Hill TX: “Yellow fever was a terrible tragedy to strike just two years after the relief to all of the end of the bloodshed of the Civil War. While many cities were hit hard by the epidemic, Chappell Hill gained the undesirable reputation of being an unhealthy place to live. The town would never recover.” (Chicoine 2004, 186)
Galveston: “The first case among the troops at Galveston occurred July 1st; the disease subsequently steadily spread among them, and cases continued to occur during August, September, and October, the last case proving fatal November 1st. In all there were one hundred and ninety-nine cases, of whom seventy-nine died….The number of deaths among the citizens of Galveston is estimated by Dr. Bacon at 1,180; by Dr. Welch…at 1,150.” (War Dept. Circ. 1, 1868, xx)
Houston, Oct 7: “The yellow fever has somewhat abated in violence during the past week, the average deaths from that disease being about twelve per day.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Echoes from Houston,” 9 Oct 1867.)
Sep 27: “Huntsville, Tex, Sept. 27, 1867. Eds. News: — Since my last, the yellow fever has become widely spread at this place, and scarcely a family but what have one or more of its members down. Up to date, seventy-four deaths have taken place since the first yellow fever case, of which sixty are yellow fever deaths… From the most truthful data we reckon at least 500 cases of yellow fever from first to last, in the town and its immediate neighborhood. Within a fraction of twelve per cent of those who have been taken down with this disease have died – a very heavy percentage, considering the high position of the place and the good sanitary condition of the town. At present the aspect is most gloomy, and every day adds to the already long list of deaths. But few of the inhabitants of this place fled upon the coming of the fever. Within our knowledge entire families are down that lack the most ordinary attention, and many will yet die from pure neglect, a neglect that is unavoidable for there are not sufficient well ones here to care for the sick. Of the doctors, two are yet weak from their late attacks, a third was severely injured by an unruly horse a few days since, and the great burden of late has been falling upon the veteran Keenan, with several hundred patients demanding attention….The town looks deserted, and no business is carried on save that of dire necessity” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Letter from Huntsville,” 9 Oct 1867.)
Rost: La Grange TX: “In 1867, the “Yellow Fever Scourge” befell the small town of La Grange – from August through November the epidemic ran its course and left 204 dead, nearly one fifth the population of the town. Many deaths went unreported; bodies rudely prepared for burial stood in piles within the cemetery fence. Mass burials took place, with six or seven bodies to a grave.” (Rost, citing: Fayette County: Past and Present by the Students of La Grange High School and Fayette County Texas Heritage, Volume I)
The following information is about yellow fever in Fayette County is taken from F. Lotto’s “Fayette County – Her History and Her People:
In the midst of corrupt political conditions, (following the Civil War), in the midst of the general destitution of the country when everything fell short of the least hope, other great calamities struck the people. In 1867 a yellow fever epidemic broke out in La Grange. The same was said to be brought here by a peddler. Another version is that the yellow fever germs were imported into Fayette County in a box of books that was sent from New Orleans… These were the first ones to die in this epidemic. Fearful were the losses of life, some families were entirely destroyed; people who could fled from town and lived in tents in the country. Those prisoners who were at that time in the county jail were either removed or discharged. The Commissioners’ or rather the Police court held no session from July 1867 to January 1868. The town looked like a grand funeral place; the empty houses stood as grand monuments of wrecked business and fortunes. The town was not cleaned…emitted a fearful stench; infected bed cloths were scattered over town. Funerals were not conducted…with decency; the supply of coffins in the town had given out, and corpses were placed for burial in hastily made, rough, wooden boxes. (Rost)
Victoria, TX: “There is a little yellow fever here yet. Five cases in the last three days, though of a mild character. We have had in all over 1,000 cases in Victoria, and something over 200 deaths, in a population of about 3,500. Many of the citizens left when the fever broke out, leaving from 1,500 to 2,000 subject to it.” (Galveston News, TX. “Texas Items,” 14 Dec 1867, 2)
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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
Block, W.T. Jr. “Some Notes on Our Texas Germanic Heritage.” 3-30-2007. Accessed at: http://www.texasescapes.com/WTBlock/Texas-Germanic-Heritage-2-Ben-Nevis.htm
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
Carroll, James, MD (Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army). “Yellow Fever — A Popular Lecture.” Texas State Journal of Medicine (Texas State Medical Association), Vol. I, No. 2, Aug 1905, pp. 69-76. Austin, TX: Von Boeckmann-Jones Co., 1905. Google preview accessed 5-2-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=R7EDAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
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Galveston Daily News, TX. “Miscellaneous” [Yellow Fever Death Internments in New Orleans,” Oct 23, 1867, 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40950997
Galveston Daily News, TX. “Mortality Report.” 8-15-1867, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40950762&sterm
Galveston Daily News, TX. “Mortality Report.” 8-17-1867, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40950770&sterm
Galveston Daily News, TX. “Mortuary Report.” 8-18-1867, p. 3, col. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40950774&sterm
Galveston Daily News, TX. “Mortuary” [Yellow Fever Death Internments]. 10-26-1867, p. 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40951008
Galveston Daily News, TX. “Mortuary Report.” 8-18-1867, p. 3, col. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40950774&sterm
Galveston Daily News, TX. “Obituary” [Yellow Fever, Harrisburg, TX]. 10-8-1867, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com
Galveston Daily News, TX. “Texas Items” [Yellow Fever at Bastrop]. 10-30-1867, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40951021
Galveston Daily News, TX. “Texas Items” [Yellow Fever at Chapel Hill], 12-14-1867, p. 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40951177
Galveston Daily News, TX. “Texas Items” [Yellow Fever at LaGrange]. 12-18-1867, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40951189
Galveston Daily News, TX. “The City” [Yellow Fever]. 8-14-1867, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40950758&sterm
Galveston Daily News, TX. “The City” [Yellow Fever]. 8-14-1867, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40950758&sterm
Galveston Daily News, TX. “The City” [Yellow Fever]. 11-28-1867, p. 3. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40951122
Galveston Daily News, TX. “The Fever.” 8-16-1867, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40950765&sterm
Galveston Daily News, TX. “The Fever in Navasota.” 11-2-1867, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40951033
Galveston Daily News, TX. “The News” [Yellow Fever at Shreveport, LA], 12-3-1867, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40951136
Galveston Daily News, TX. [Yellow Fever, Goliad, TX]. 11-2-1867, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40951033
Galveston Daily News, TX. [Yellow Fever, Houston] 11-15-1867, p. 1, col. 9. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40951076&sterm=letter+houston
Galveston Daily News, TX. “Yellow Fever in Victoria.” 10-15-1867, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40950968
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
Nevels, Cynthia Skove. Lynching To Belong: Claiming Whiteness Through Racial Violence. Texas A&M University, 2007. Partially digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=RI-H0of4-i4C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
New York Times. “The Old Year. Chronology of 1867.” 1-1-1868, p. 2. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E0CE4DB1630EE34BC4953DFB7668383679FDE
New York Times. “Yellow Fever Retrospect.” 10-7-1888. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9D03EFD81F38E033A25754C0A9669D94699FD7CF&oref=slogin
Rost, Bea. “The Old City Cemetery and Yellow Fever in La Grange, Texas.” Accessed 12-12-2008 at: http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/texasczech/Studies/Yellow%20Fever.htm
Rozeff, Norman. “Yellow Fever in the Valley, Part II: Yellow Fever Comes to the Valley.” Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. 8-7-2016. Accessed 5-3-2018 at: http://www.valleymorningstar.com/life/part-ii-yellow-fever-comes-to-the-valley/article_762d6df2-5b59-11e6-80ac-b3aac43f12e4.html
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
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[1] “As yet the Board of Health of the city of Mobile have not reported more than six deaths from yellow fever, though, to my knowledge, about thirty-five cases have occurred during September.
[2] Major Tracy, 15th US Infantry, in a hospital.
[3] Report of Acting Assistant Surgeon R. W. Coale. Writes “There were eighteen cases of yellow fever during the month [Oct], fifteen of whom were treated at this hospital, and three died…three other cases were treated at camp, Captain Cummings and Private Simpson having died there. Mortality 20 per cent.”
[4] “Mobile, Oct. 23. – Col. Charles Healy, brother of Gen. Healey, U.S. Marshal of Alabama, died this morning of yellow fever….Interments of yellow fever, 2.” We count only Col. Healy, who is not named in one of the War Dept. reports we have seen. The other death could have been a soldier already noted.
[5] The soldier, a Sergeant Luther Miller, Co. H, 15th U.S. Infantry, contracted the disease while in Mobile.
[6] Extract, Monthly Report of Sick and Wounded, Fort Morgan, AL. L. Reynolds, Acting Ast. Surgeon, Aug, 1867: “Yellow fever was introduced at this post from New Orleans by Lieut. J. K. Hezlep, who died…was communicated by him to Lieutenant Breckenridge, who shared his room, and to Dr. Reynolds, who attended him. It spread to those in immediate connection with them; from Lieutenant Breckenridge to Quartermaster Sergeant Ellmore and others, and from Dr. Reynolds to his hospital steward, his laundress, her husband, and others. A fortnight after Lieutenant Hezlep’s death, Dr. Reynolds and Lieutenant Breckenridge ere attacked on the same day.” [Thus, an infected mosquito infected Hezlep in N.O. Upon return to Camp Morgan he infected at least one biting mosquito, who infected the others mentioned upon biting them.] Another report, dated Sep 15, notes that Lt. Hezlep died on Aug 13 and subsequently “A fortnight after the disease broke out here, nine have died of it up to the present date.”
[7] Carrigan writes “By the end of August the fever began to subside, and the New Iberia epidemic was virtually over when the New Orleans visitation really got under way. In a population of 1,600 to 1,800, considerably reduced by the flight of many citizens, no less than 700 cases and seventy deaths had occurred by Aug 31.”
[8] After noting 3,107 people died in New Orleans, not counting the military, Carrigan writes: “The Medical Director [US military] reported 213 yellow fever deaths among the 1,000 to 1,100 troops, making a total fever mortality of 3,230 in the Crescent City. With an estimated case fatality rate of eight per cent, the disease had attacked about 41,500 persons, or about one-fourth of the population in the city during the outbreak. (Cites: Report of the LA State Board of Health for 1867, p. 18; and New Orleans Med. & Surgical Journal, Vol. XXI, April, 1867, pp. 413-414.
[9] Carrigan 1961, p. 156.
[10] Cites, in footnote 28, p. 146: Report of the Louisiana State Board of Health for 1867, pp. 18 and 20. Carrigan notes this number did not include “the fatalities among the United States forces stationed there.”
[11] The following week, on Aug 22, “General Philip S. Sheridan, United States army commander in Louisiana, telegraphed to headquarters in Washington that yellow fever had assumed an epidemic character in New Orleans.”
[12] Cites New Orleans Picayune, Oct 22, 1867.
[13] Carrigan, p. 166: During September and October Yellow Jack attacked over 500 persons and claimed at least seventy-three victims in the small community of Washington, Louisiana, about forty miles north of New Iberia.
[14] “The misfortune at Trinity Episcopal Church [deaths of 13 Williams family members during Hurricane Camille Aug 17, 1969], actually, was the worst single tragedy to occur in Pass Christian’s history, since the loss of 10 Christian Brothers to Yellow Fever in 1867.”
[15] Our number based on “a few deaths have occurred, the victims, however, being from the infected districts.”
[16] “At Austin…there were but two [military] cases. The first occurred during September, and proved fatal; the patient was a prisoner just arrived from New Orleans, where the fever was prevailing. The second case occurred during November, and recovered…” (US War Dept. Circular No. 1, xxi.)
[17] “In Brenham, the seat of Washington County, yellow afflicted 40 percent of the population, killing 500 residents.”
[18] “At Brenham…yellow fever was introduced from Galveston by an attaché of the Freedmen’s Bureau, who arrived August 8th, and was taken sick next day. The disease subsequently spread among the citizens of Brenham, but the troops almost wholly escaped….[notes 2 military deaths]. (US War Dept. Circular No. 1, xx.)
[19] “During 1867 although no state-wide records of death by disease were kept, it is known that over 3000 people in Galveston and Harris county [principally Houston] alone [died] and Corpus Christie lost 300 people which was one third of its population at the time.”
[20] “W. H. Maltby, editor of the Corpus Christi Advertiser, put out a one-page extra on August 14, 1867, listing the deaths reported as of that date. Before he started running off the edition, he set two more lines of type: ‘7 more deaths as we go to press, at 5 p.m.’ The editor wrote: ‘There is scarcely a house in the City that has escaped either sickness or Death….Our pen is inadequate to the task of describing the distress that now prevails among us. The death of a wife and sister, the sickness of two other members of our family, and of ourself, must be the apology to our patrons for the suspension of our paper, and of this very brief notice of events that have transpired since out last issue of July 27th.’ People died so frequently in Corpus Christi that, as one newspaper writer later put it, ‘the living could not care for the dead.’ Lumber delivered to build a new church instead had to be used for coffins. Families tore down fences to fashion more caskets. When wood ran out, bodies went to the grave wrapped in sheets or blankets, often three or four buried together. The same somber circumstances played out in every coastal city from Beaumont to Brownsville.” (Cox. Texas Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival. 2006, pp. 13-14.)
[21] “….We have seen a letter from Corpus Christi, which states that several deaths have occurred from yellow fever; among them, Mrs. Polan, and Mr. Eastwood, both known in this place…”
[22] War Dept. Circular 1, also notes this mortality figure for civilians, with this source being a Dr. Welch.
[23] “The appearance of yellow fever at Indianola was speedily followed by its outbreak at Galveston. There was unobstructed, almost daily communication between the two places, and…steamships made regular trips between Indianola and New Orleans, always stopping at Galveston both going and returning. Brevet Major Samuel Adams, Assistant Surgeon, U.S.A., states, in a letter dated August 13th…that the first case of the fever which occurred at Galveston was brought from Indianola bout June 26th, and died two days afterwards, at one of the boarding-houses in the lower part of the city. He asserts that the introduction of the disease was the result of gross negligence on the part of the city authorities, who did not attempt to establish quarantine until after this fatal case had occurred.”
[24] “City Sexton’s Report. – The City Sexton reports the following interments for Sunday, August 11th: [list of names, ages and causes of death]. Recapitulation: Yellow Fever…18.” [Out of 21 total deaths.]
[25] “Mortality Report – The following is a list of the names of the persons buried yesterday, August 13th, 1867, furnished by the City Sexton:… Of the above 21 were males, 10 females…28 from yellow fever.”
[26] “The City Sexton reports the following interments for Thursday, August 15th: …[list of names, ages, cause of death] Recapitulation. Yellow Fever…20…” [Out of 21 deaths, the other being “brain fever.”]
[27] “The following is the list of burials yesterday, August 16th, as furnished by the City Sexton…[list of names ages, and cause of death] Yellow Fever…26. Other Diseases…8. Total…34.”
[28] “The following is the list of burials yesterday, August 17th, established by the City Sexton…[list of names, ages and cause of death] Yellow Fever…28. Other Diseases 1.”
[29] Notes there were 199 white military cases and 79 white deaths, including three medical officers. Notes “there were, besides, five cases and two deaths in a small detachment of colored troops temporarily at the post.”
[30] “At Hempstead, the first case was a citizen named Vorhes, who arrived some time in August, and died shortly afterwards. This event was followed by the appearance of other cases among the citizens of the place. On the 6th of September one of the officers of the garrison was attacked, and towards the middle of the month cases began to occur among the enlisted men. In all fifty-five cases and twenty-nine deaths are reported out of an average strength of 110 officers and men. The last cases occurred early in December.” (US War Dept. Circular No. 1, p. xx.)
[31] “August 14th, 1867….The yellow fever continues to be the absorbing topic of conversation among our citizens, it now being generally admitted that we have well-developed cases of that disease in our midst….This morning Mr. George P. Beverly, a young man in the employ of Ranger & Co., and recently from Galveston, died at the Hutchins House of yellow fever, and this is claimed to be the first death that has occurred in the city….”
[32] Notes” “There were, in all, seventy-one cases and twenty-five deaths, out of an average strength, for the six months, of 72 officers and men. The last case appeared on the 3d of November.”
[33] Writes: “…Indianola is said to have received the infection from Vera Cruz, and we are told that ‘in less than a week the whole business part of the town was struck down as by lightning, there being no less than 125 to 150 cases taken during that time out of a population of less than 1000.’ The extension of the disease was checked by a rapid depopulation of the town. The number of deaths among the citizens was about seventy-five. From Indianola the disease is said to have been carried to various points throughout the State and even beyond.”
[34] The widow of Sam Houston. Most probably hers was not the only death, just the most notable. Cox writes: “By October, Independence had withered to a virtual ghost town. Baylor College had been shut down. As a warning to the healthy, white sheets hung from the houses of those who had come down with the disease….A second wave of the epidemic…begun. Realization of that caused justifiable panic. Riders galloped out of town, followed by buggies and wagons as people cried out, ‘Yellow Fever! Yellow Fever!’…she [Margaret Houston] died on December 3, 1867, after two days of delirium. Wary of getting sick themselves, no one was willing to take the body of Houston’s widow to Huntsville for burial at her husband’s side. Instead, she went into a deeper-than-normal grave outside Independence. Margaret had been a very religious woman, but the local Baptist preacher would not even preside at her brief funeral for fear of infection” (Cox. Texas Disasters. 2006, pp. 15-16.)
[35] Cox notes this was “nearly a fifth of its population.”
[36] Cox writes that “The epidemic killed towns as well as people. Places like Millican in Brazos County and Chappell Hill in nearby Washington County never really recovered from the epidemic.”
[37] “…a month after the first train steamed in Bryan [Aug 1867], a yellow fever epidemic broke out in Millican, causing remaining residents to stampede toward Bryan. ‘All sort of vehicles were pressed into service, and men, women and children, pots, pans and skillets, dogs, beds and mattresses, promiscuously mixed up, evacuated the town in great disorder,’ reported a Galveston newspaper in September. ‘Tar was burning before the doors, asafetida suspended beneath the noses of those remaining behind.’ By early October the death rate was still high. ‘The fever is very bad at Millican, and very fatal….There are now not enough left to bury the dead,’ the Galveston newspaper gloomily reported. ‘The Post Office at Millican is now discontinued. The postmaster has fled to the woods, and the telegraph operator is dead’.” Nevels. Lynching To Belong: Claiming Whiteness Through Racial Violence. 2007, 18.
[38] “At Victoria, cases appeared among the citizens during the month of August, but did not extend to the troops till a month later. During the latter portion of September and the early part of October there were eighteen cases and four deaths out of an average mean strength of 74 men. About the middle of October the post at Victoria was abandoned and the command removed to Indianola.”
[39] We speculate that the 453 number refers to white troops only, or does not include the seamen lost at New Orleans.