BW/ Smallpox blankets for Native Americans

Smallpox blankets for Native Americans 

After the French and Indian War (1754-62), today Ohio became British territory which the local Native Americans were not happy about at all. Before that they were under French rule but while the French tried to make alliences with the Native Americans the British mostly conducted a repression policy. This is why several local tribes formed an alliance which rebelled against the British rule. The rebellion was lead by a man called Pontiac and therefore become known as Pontiac’s Rebellion.

The biological warfare assault is said to have occurred at Fort Pitt. After the rebellion had begun many of the settlers fled to the safety of Fort Pitt. The fort was attacked in July 1973 and although it was too strong to be taken the Native Americans held under siege for more than a month. The situation inside the crowded fort was getting worse by the day. So, unlike a famous Commander called Amherst had anticipated, the Native Americans started to pose a serious threat to the British rule. This is why he started to look for more drastic ways to fight the enemy party. In a well-documented correspondence with a Colonel called Bouquet he suggested distributing blankets infected with smallpox to the Native Americans in order to defeat them.

Amherst wrote on about June 29, 1763: "Could it not be contrived to send the small pox among the disaffected tribes of Indians? We must on this occasion use every stratagem in our power to reduce them."

Bouquet agreed, replying to Amherst on July 13: "I will try to inoculate the bastards with some blankets that may fall into their hands, and take care not to get the disease myself."

Amherst responded on July 16:"You will do well to inoculate the Indians by means of blankets, as wellas every other method that can serve to extirpate this execrable race."

Apparently officers at Fort Pitt, on their own initiatives, tried to give two blankets and a handkerchief infected with smallpox two Native American representatives.

It is know for a fact that during the Pontiac rebellion many Native Americans died from smallpox.

But even though there are two cases in which the British intentions of using biological warfare can be clearly deduced from, historians argue whether the attempt was carried out and whether it was carried out successfully. The reasoning behind this is that firstly many of the Native Americans were infected with smallpox before the Fort Pitt incident took place. Eyewitnesses reported that Native American soldiers were infected by the disease after having attacked white settlements. The effectiveness of the disease can also be traced back to the relative novelty of the smallpox virus for the Native population. While people in Europe had already developed some kind of immune defense the immune system of a Native American was more vulnerable in this respect.

Whether the British succeeded in carrying out their plan or not, the idea itself is cruel enough to not leave them with a clean slate.