"Smallpox in Washington's Army: Strategic Implications..." Topic

… of the Disease during the American Revolutionary War

"The prevalence of smallpox during the early years of the American War for Independence posed a very real danger to the success of the Revolution. This essay documents the impact of the deadly disease on the course of military a ctivities during the war and analyzes smallpox as a critical factor in the military decision-makingp rocess. Historians have rarely delved into the significant implications smallpox held for eighteenth-century military strategy and battlefield effectiveness, yet the disease nearly crippled American efforts in the campaigns of
1775 and 1776. Smallpox was a major factor during the American invasion of Canada and the siege of Boston. Rumors over the British use of biological warfare, controversy over inoculation, and attempts to control the spread of smallpox all impeded the progress of the war.
Recruitmentw as adversely affected, desertions increased, and commanding officers were forced to proceed with inadequate forces because of smallpox. This frightening
disease affected the actions of the Revolutionary army and its generals, reduced the American ability to attract and hold recruits, and influenced the controversial…"
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Amicalement
Armand

The supply of gunpowder may have been more important

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Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand

Washington's insistence on inoculation against smallpox resulted in the Continental Army being the first military organization to do so.

Napoleon also had the same thing done in the Grande Armee.

As an aside, Napoleon was a great admirer of Washington and put the French army into mourning for six months after Washington's death.

Allegedly, Napoleon stated when asked by one of his generals if he would step down as First Consul when his reform work in France was finished, he asked the officer, 'Who do you think I am, George Washington?'