Speaker in 2020 CCHS Civil War Speaker Series
Schuyler County Historian
PhD candidate in American History at Binghamton University
(Mr. Emerson has recorded his Civil War talk for us to post on our video page of Facebook on 4/30, this timely blog highlights some of the topic he will cover.)
(Mr. Emerson has recorded his Civil War talk for us to post on our video page of Facebook on 4/30, this timely blog highlights some of the topic he will cover.)
The smallpox epidemic that struck the Elmira Prison Camp during the Civil War provides a didactic message for the present. With the proper precautions, the epidemic could have been managed with a minimal loss of life, but without the preventative steps or proper social distancing the virus spread and became the third leading killer at the prison camp.
Elmira Prison Camp |
All Civil War prison camps were visited by smallpox, with most experiencing
similar problems in bringing it under control, even though the means for
preventing it were widely known. The spread of crowd diseases, like smallpox,
became one of the unintended consequences of the decision to establish military
prison camps during the war, as nature and the environment became another enemy
to battle with.
The presence of smallpox in the prison camp
presented the possibility that it could spread to the civilian population in
Elmira. By good fortune it did not, but the city leaders took the precaution of
establishing a pest house to allow for the isolation of any cases that should
crop up. The Elmira pest house was maintained into the early 20th
century as a first line of defense whenever smallpox or any other contagious
disease visited the area.
Today, we must defend against a new virus
that threatens our well-being. Many of the lessons applicable in 1865 are still
important in our current response to covid-19. Let us hope that people heed
those lessons well to lessen the impact of the illness, while we wait for a
vaccine to bolster our arsenal against it.
Join our Facebook page on Thursday April 30th
at 7 pm for a recorded talk by Gary Emerson.
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