Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 | Outbreak | 1
American History Tellers
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The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793
In the summer and fall of 1793 yellow fever ravaged Philadelphia then the nation's largest city. The disease spread rapidly sparking panic One after another residents were struck down with high fevers, violent chills and black vomit. By October the illness was claiming 100 lives a day by which time 5000 people had died. But it also revealed the extraordinary courage of ordinary people on the front lines who fought the worst epidemic to ever hit the young nation. This is episode one in our three part series on the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 outbreak.
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