An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793

Matthew Clarkson is the Mayor of Philadelphia in 1793. He comes from a wealthy New York family and made a fortune selling insurance in Philadelphia. He gets involved in politics in 1790, serving first as an alderman before becoming mayor in 1793 at 60 years of age. Although his wife comes down with yellow fever and his youngest son dies from it, he feels he cannot abandon the city during the outbreak. While his position as mayor is more symbolic and does not carry any real power, Clarkson chooses to stay “even though he knew it would mean breaking the law” (25).

In August, the governor hands the entire situation over to Clarkson before fleeing the city, but grants Clarkson no emergency funding or powers. Clarkson illegally assembles a committee that takes charge of the city government for the duration of the epidemic. He personally turns his attention to getting the sick and indigent off the streets. With help from the Overseers and Guardians of the Poor, he seizes Bush Hill and transforms it into a hospital.

George Washington is the first president of the United States. Along with most of the federal government, he lives and works in Philadelphia at the time of the first fever cases. However, in September, Washington decides to leave the city with his wife Martha for Mount Vernon, his estate in Virginia. Washington sets off a constitutional crisis when he leaves, since many powerful members of the federal government believe Congress can only legally meet within the city’s limits. The issue is not resolved before the fever subsides. Washington finally returns to the city in November after being absent for over six weeks. He proclaims that Congress can finally meet in December.

Absalom Jones and Richard Allen are elder members of the Free African Society. They had both previously been forced to leave St. George Methodist Church due to their status as African Americans. When Benjamin Rush asks them to help mainly white yellow fever patients, they agree. They immediately begin sending volunteers throughout the city, although Allen is sidelined after falling ill and Jones must carry on without him.

In January 1794 they publish a book called A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia, in the Year 1793; and a Refutation of Some Censures, Thrown upon Them in Some Late Publications. The book is written in response to Matthew Carey’s best-selling book, A Short Account of the Malignant Fever, Lately Prevalent in Philadelphia…. They refute the claims made by Carey that African American nurses hiked up their rates during the outbreak, although Carey had thanked Jones and Allen directly. His praise falls flat, however, as Jones and Allen feel he has insulted the entire group of volunteers. Their book points out that Carey fled the city for part of the epidemic and is now profiting off it by writing a book, which makes his argument about the nurses hypocritical. It also includes praise from Mayor Clarkson, who Jones and Allen explain had already resolved the issue of the nurses months earlier, making Carey’s point irrelevant.

Israel Israel is part of the mayor’s committee tasked with running the city. He is a 47-year-old tavern keeper and merchant, and according to Murphy he “managed to outshine” (69) the other members of the committee due to his efforts. He assists in housing the city’s orphans, confronts the city’s bad odors by making sure proper burial procedures are followed, and helps handle and distribute food and resources to the needy. He is there to confront the city’s many challenges and restore order. Israel runs for the state legislature in 1793 following the epidemic but loses. He campaigns as an advocate for the poor and a critic of the wealthy ruling parties. Israel loses again in 1795, but in 1797 he wins during another outbreak of yellow fever when many of the city’s wealthy residents have fled. However, his opponent demands a reelection and ultimately ousts Israel. He seems to have the support of voters in times of need but not when they return to normal.

Stephen Girard and Peter Helm are members of the mayor’s committee who agree to run Bush Hill. Girard is a merchant and Helm is a barrel maker. Girard, who is French, is one of the wealthiest people in Philadelphia at the time. He is calm, determined, and organized. Helm, who is Moravian, believes in a biblical obligation to serve those in need. He is humble, kind, and courageous. At Bush Hill, Girard and Helm divide up the responsibilities and quickly manage to bring order to the hospital. They organize rooms and build new structures to separate the patients according to their condition. Helm fixes the pumps and brings in fresh water. The reputation of Bush Hill dramatically improves under their direction.

Jean Devèze is a French doctor who volunteers at Bush Hill once Stephen Girard and Peter Helm take over. There is some controversy over his hiring since he is French, which might be seen as an insult to American doctors; nevertheless, after several days he is approved. He is part of the efforts to improve the operations and image of the hospital. He previously worked with yellow fever patients in the West Indies and contracted it twice. Neither he nor Girard believe the fever is contagious, and both are opposed to Benjamin Rush’s aggressive cure. Along with Girard and Helm, he receives praise for turning Bush Hill around.

The Reverend Helmuth heads one of the city’s Lutheran congregations and provides a deeply religious perspective on the fever outbreak. He remains in Philadelphia throughout the epidemic, visiting many fever patients. Deeming the epidemic to be a judgment from God, he feels that Philadelphians are paying the price for their constant engagement with non-religious pursuits, such as the theater. He is “shocked” (113) in the aftermath when everyone resumes their pre-fever activities, disregarding “the obvious lessons” (113).

Matthew Carey is a publisher and printer in Philadelphia who publishes his observations during the epidemic in a book called A Short Account of the Malignant Fever, Lately Prevalent in Philadelphia…The first two editions sell out and his style is “lively and direct” (116). He details the feeling of panic throughout the outbreak, the villainy of those who abandoned loved ones, and the heroism of those who remained. Despite the book’s popularity, Absalom Jones and Richard Allen criticize it for singling out African American nurses for profiting off the sick. Carey defends himself by affirming his anti-slavery stance and calling attention to his inclusion of African American writers in his magazine. In the last edition of his book, he does not remove his comments but adds in a footnote explaining that white nurses also exploited the situation.

Jesse Lazear is a doctor who works for the US Army Yellow Fever Commission in Cuba following the Spanish-American War. In the early 1900s, he takes up the previous work of doctors Josiah Nott and Carlos Finlay, who during the 1800s posited a link between mosquitoes and yellow fever. The near death of his colleague and a test subject from an insect bite, as well as his own passing from the fever, is enough to prompt Walter Reed, who heads the US Army Yellow Fever Commission, to initiate further testing.