1- There has always been a great debate whether or not smallpox was used as a weapon during the American Revolution. There were numerous incidents that raised suspicions, many who accused people of using smallpox as a weapon, and who was accused. Although smallpox was believed to be spread many ways, a common theory is that the British purposely infected surrounding native tribes by the use of blankets and a handkerchief. Elizabeth A. Fenn explains a theory after the Indians came to meet with the British as such, “The parleys came to a close, and the Indians asked for "a little Provisions and Liquor, to carry us Home." The British obliged their request. ‘Out of our regard to them,’ wrote William Trent, ‘we gave them two Blankets and an Handkerchief …show more content…
Fenn does a phenomenal job broadening the debate over Fort Pitt and placing it in proper context just as she hoped. She brought up all different views and thoughts about what people believed happened on the topic of smallpox. The first view was that the British intentionally infected local Indians with blankets and a handkerchief taken from the smallpox hospital. Fenn elaborates on this point of view, “In an undated memorandum that is apparently a postscript to a letter of July 7, 1763, Amherst proposed the following to Bouquet: "Could it not be contrived to Send the Small Pox among those Disaffected Tribes of Indians? We must, on this occasion, Use Every Stratagem in our power to Reduce them." This example allows the reader to see the first view point. This view point is that the British leader, Amherst, influenced and pressured his civilians to infect the Indians. The second view point is that British had no desire to infect the Indians, but also lacked the ability and knowledge to do so. Fenn proves this next view point when she states, “It is unlikely that the French would have knowingly passed smallpox on to their Indian supporters at this crucial juncture in the Seven Years' War. But the accusation may well reflect a Native American perception that since they had caught the disease while fighting for the French, the French were therefore responsible for the devastation it caused. Eager to retain and appease their Indian allies, French officials laid the blame for the epidemic in the British camp.” This quote demonstrates the second view point because the it appears the French infected the Indians accidentally and needed someone to blame. The blame fell on the British. The reader can infer that the British had nothing to do with the smallpox epidemic and had no desire to. The third view point is that the Indians were sick before they received the handkerchief and blankets from the British. Fenn explicates, “What the documents do show,