Smallpox+among+the+Confederate+Prisoners

Original Author: Diana Chan, ENG348 FL09 Revision:  Not long after Confederate prisoners arrived to the prison at Rock Island, it was apparent that a major problem had made its way north with the prisoners: smallpox. The fact that a hospital had not been erected along with the lack of quarantine facilities on the island caused smallpox to sweep through the entire population.  There are differing accounts on the conditions of the prison, and the severity of the illnesses. Dr Townshed only barely mentioned small pox, stating near the end of his medical report that “’These unforeseen difficulties [smallpox] appear to have been met with the utmost promptitude by the medical officers and post commander’”. (Medical records, Rock Island Arsenal archives).  However, the numbers of infected and dying soldiers told a different story. According to Moxley, the conditions were grave. Moxley reprts a lack of a “pest hospital” which forced commanders to keep the sick in with the rest of the prison population (RIA archives). Three small houses were used for smallpox victims, but it wasn’t long before these were overflowing. Moxley reported the houses had three times the maximum number of patients crowded into them. (RIA archives). According to the Rock Island museum archives, cases were discovered and reported at a rate of twenty per day, and the rate of newly infected continued at an alarming rate.  Sadly, the entire epidemic could have been easily avoided with a few simple measures. The first major problem was lack of quarantine. According ot Mc Adams, Pratt the commander of the Louisville prison, knowingly placed men infected with smallpox on the trains headed north to Rock Island. Instead, these men should have been pulled out of the general prison population and remained in Louisville.  Another issue was lack of adequate vaccination. While the Confederates showed the mark of vaccination, the vaccination was labeled by Moxley as an “impure virus imposed on him while in the southern army” (RIA archives). The vaccination clearly did little to protect the men, and an apparent lack of vaccinations available was a problem as well.  Also poor housing, lack of basic supplies, and exposure to the cold weaken the prisoners, thus weakening their immune system. Even mild cases of smallpox could easily become deadly among the prison population on the island. (Mc Adams 52).  It appears the primary cause for the smallpox epidemic was negligence. A few small, simple measures and a basic understanding of virology and infection control were all that would have been needed to stop smallpox before so many men died from the disease. <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mc Adams, B. 2000. Rebels at rock island. Northern Illinois University Press. Dekalb <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Rock Island Arsenal Archives. Medical Records. Retrieved December 17th 2009. <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Smallpox among the Confederate Prisoners, Rock Island Prison **
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