George Washington, Smallpox, and Leadership in the Revolutionary Era

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PRESENTATION OVERVIEW | The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution. The recent COVID 19 pandemic reminded Americans how diseases can influence human events. Few Americans living today recognize how one of the deadliest diseases in human history, variola major, known as smallpox, contributed to nearly ending the American Revolutionaries’ push for independence. This lecture presentation examines General George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, attempts to manage and combat a smallpox crisis prior to ordering the first mass health inoculation mandate in U.S. history. This discussion details how Washington’s efforts to enforce an inoculation mandate demonstrated adaptable leadership to avert an increasing catastrophe. In ordering the mass inoculation of soldiers not previously infected with smallpox and collaborating with army doctors to create inoculation hospitals, the general discarded traditional quarantine methods he had previously stubbornly supported to treat smallpox. Washington’s support of army doctors’ mass inoculation measures strengthened his army’s capacity to win their independence and ensured the success of one of the most secretive military plans in American history. The mass inoculation of Washington’s army contributed to encouraging physicians to support inoculations and cowpox vaccinations within the new nation and reveals at present the importance of adaptability in crisis moments for future leaders.

ABOUT DR. SEAN HALVERSON | Dr. Sean C. Halverson is a historian of Early American military and political history with research interests in the American colonial and revolutionary era. He has taught a range of American history topics at the graduate and undergraduate levels at Alvin College, Mississippi State University, San Joaquin Delta College, and Alabama A & M University. Halverson’s currently teaches history courses at Alvin College, in Alvin, Texas. His most recent publications are published in the academic journals of Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Intelligence and National Security, and the Huntsville Historical Review. He has presented scholarly papers at national and regional conferences across the country. Halverson is originally from the Superior, Wisconsin, area near Lake Superior. When not teaching and working, he enjoys reading history, outdoor activities, ice-skating, biking, and hunting.