Title: C.S. Crofut's Letter about Yellow Fever

Date/Date Range :   1878 October 16

Extent: 0.1 linear feet

Abstract:

In a letter dated October 16, 1878, C.S. Crofut describes the effects of Yellow Fever in Chattanooga, TN, and other "Towns and Countys" to his "Dear father."

Call number: MS-2270

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

This collection is property of the Special Collections Library.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], C.S. Crofut's Letter about Yellow Fever, MS-2270. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of a single folder.

No biographical information is known about the sender or recipient. The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 began in the late summer and struck many southern American cities, including New Orleans, Little Rock, and Mobile. Memphis, TN, was hurt most with 5,000 casualties between August and November, and Chattanooga, TN, lost 366 citizens, including Mayor Thomas J. Carlisle, from August through October.

C. S. Crofut writes on October 16, 1878, to his "Dear father" about the Yellow Fever epidemic that hit Chattanooga, TN. Crofut describes how the disease suspended business in Chattanooga and that the people "are dying like sheep." Also, "Towns and Countys have quarantined against each other" with armed guards to scare men "from the infected parts," and some places let criminals leave when they feign symptoms of Yellow Fever.

• Chattanooga (Tenn.) -- History.
• Yellow fever -- Tennessee.