George Washington confronted a smallpox epidemic with a belief in science--and a controversial plan.
During the Revolutionary War George Washington decided to inoculate his troops against small pox. What follows is a few paragraphs from an excellent article:
In the aftermath of the battles of Lexington and Concord, Washington’s Continental Army had set up camp across the Charles River from the stricken city. To the dismay of many patriots seeking refuge from the British, the general prohibited anyone from Boston from entering the military zone. “Every precaution must be used to prevent its spreading,” he sternly warned one of his subordinates about the virus. To John Hancock, the president of the Continental Congress, Washington vowed to “continue the utmost Vigilance against this most dangerous enemy.”
By immediately isolating anyone suspected of infection and limiting outside contact, Washington “prevented a disastrous epidemic among the Continental troops,” historian Ann Becker says. In March 1776, when the British withdrew from Boston, Washington even specified that only soldiers who had suffered from smallpox be allowed into the city and its surroundings.
Fighting back
But Washington wanted to do more than contain the threat. Inoculation against smallpox dates back to ancient China, but in colonial America it was a highly controversial procedure. Called variolation, the procedure entailed making a small incision in a patient’s arm and inserting a dose of the live virus large enough to trigger immunity but small enough to prevent severe illness or death. The son of Britain’s King George III had died in agony when his dose was poorly applied. In Washington’s home state of Virginia, variolation was illegal.
Washington, however, was a strong believer in its effectiveness; he even persuaded his wife, Martha, to undergo the procedure in May 1776. That month, however, the general forbade any of his troops from being inoculated. It could take weeks to recover, and he feared that the inoculated men would be laid low just as the fight with the British intensified. “The Enemy, knowing it, will certainly take Advantage of our Situation,” he wrote.
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https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/04/george-washington-beat-smallpox-epidemic-with-controversial-inoculations/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=History_20200420&rid=FB26C926963C5C9490D08EC70E179424