Record #:

34670

Author(s):

Johnston, Donald R.

Abstract:

During the 1863/1864 winter, smallpox broke out in runaway slave encampments at New Bern and Beaufort. While soldiers in the nearby Union camps had been vaccinated against the disease, approximately 10% of the 2,500 black refugees at Beaufort were diagnosed with the infection. Union soldiers near New Bern were fortunately able to vaccinate the encampment before the virus spread. Soldiers at the Beaufort camp instead chose to isolate smallpox cases and the outbreak eventually died out.

Source:

The Researcher (NoCar F 262 C23 R47), Vol. 18 Issue 1, Spring 2002, p11-13, il, por

Subject(s):

North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Health aspects; Smallpox--North Carolina; Beaufort--History