Washington’s extensive library contained nine medical books, and he was familiar with popular medical self-help publications of the day, such as Dr. William Buchan’s Domestic Medicine. Books like these offered practical advice for the treatment of many common diseases, and indeed much of Washington’s medical expertise was acquired by studying practical manuals. With the help of overseers, Washington routinely administered medications and bleeding to his own family and enslaved workers, though on occasion he also called in professional physicians to help deal with more serious ailments. For himself, it was not uncommon for Washington to prescribe a robust regimen of exercise to help recover after a bout of illness.
Once Washington was appointed the head of the Continental Army in 1775, his longtime interest in medicine played a vital role in forming his views regarding better health measures for his troops. This focus was evident from the beginning, as one of his first acts as Commander-in-Chief was to urge Congress to establish the army’s Medical Department. During his time as commander, Washington confronted a number of medical issues. Smallpox was one of the most serious diseases affecting his soldiers, as the epidemic threatened the troops up and down the East Coast during the early days of the Revolutionary War. From the start, Washington understood the probability of the pestilence spreading among his troops, causing severe illness and death, and potentially derailing the fight for independence. In January 1777, he told Dr. William Shippen, then Medical Director of the Continental Army, that “We should have more to dread from [smallpox] than from the Sword of the Enemy.” To halt the spread of the disease, Washington made the decision to have all his soldiers inoculated. This unheralded resolution to inoculate the entire American forces certainly ranks among his most important decisions during the war.
For his era, Washington also appears to have had an advanced grasp of broader public health measures to prevent disease and promote good health. In his General Orders of July 4, 1775, issued from Cambridge, Massachusetts, Washington emphasized the need for sanitation and announced that officers were “required and expected to pay diligent Attention to keep their Men neat and clean… and inculcate upon them the necessity of cleanliness, as essential to health and service.” He also ordered that no soldiers be allowed out of camp, as he believed “that there may be danger of introducing the small pox into the army.” Washington feared that men mingling with Boston citizens might be infected with the disease, and he took the threat seriously, introducing sensible measures to reduce contagion.