Copy of Signed Document

Regarding Whether Shipped Clothing is Infected with Yellow Fever

Knox provides physician opinion upon the probability of Yellow Fever being contained in the clothing: which states that one should unpack the clothing, expose them to air and then smoke them for twenty four hours.

Regarding whether shipped clothing is infected with Yellow Fever

1793

08

31

War Department

Note from transcriber Nsalomone: The "infection" that Henry Knox discusses in this letter is the Yellow Fever epidemic, which hit Philadelphia in the summer of 1793. While generally a tropical disease, there was a revolution in the Caribean, which sent fleets of refugees to the port city of Philadelphia. Thousands of people were displaced in the city of Philadelphia at this time. With them, they brought culture, family, and mosquitos. These mosquitos carried the disese 'yellow fever'.
Yellow fever derrives its name from the color that ones skin and eyes turn if the disease progresses to the point of shutting down the liver (jaundice). While not always terminal, it was the cause of thousands of deaths in Philadelphia in the 1793 outbreak.

Isaac Craig

Henry Knox

physicians

War Department

infection

clothing

smoke

fever

Yellow Fever epidemic

1793083114001

1

War department

Yo 122 August 31, 1793

Sir

The following is the opinion of the Physicians upon the possibility of the infection being contained in the clothing

"We are of Opinion that it will be proper to unpack them, expose them to the air and to smoak them for the space of twenty four hours"

You will have it affectually executed with the least delay each case or package by itself and then carefully repacked.

Upon communicating with the Physiicans they are of opinion from the circumstances that thie precaution may be necessary although it is not very probably that any infectious matter is contained in the clothing.

I am

Sir

Your humble Servant

HKnox

Major Issac Craig