10. The Continental troops received medical care which included inoculation from smallpox
George Washington contracted smallpox in his youth, and after recovering carried some pock marks on his face for the rest of his life. He was lucky, or perhaps it was his overall good health and physical fitness which allowed him to survive a disease which was as often as not fatal. For the remainder of his life he was intrigued with the process of inoculation through which the disease was avoided. Following his victories at Trenton and Princeton, Washington led his army into winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, near enough to New York City to keep a wary eye on his British adversaries, but far enough away to be protected from surprise attacks. While at Morristown he took on another enemy.
During the Revolutionary War one of nine fatalities suffered by the Continental Army was due to combat. The rest were from disease and accidents. Washington was determined to eradicate smallpox from his army, and during the winter encampment of 1776-77 he took action to do so, having the troops under his command inoculated from the disease, extending the campaign against smallpox to the local population. His order, issued on January 6, 1777, extended mandatory inoculation against smallpox to all new recruits (unless they could prove they had previously contracted the disease) and for the first time American fighting men faced mandatory “shots” as part of their induction into the service.