ABSTRACT
Although the English physician Edward Jenner first inoculated against the deadly, disfiguring disease smallpox in 1796, vaccination was not a standard practice at the time of the Civil War. Most army and civilian doctors realized vaccination’s importance, especially when smallpox appeared in an army or a city and began to spread rapidly in the crowded conditions. However, orders to vaccinate large numbers of people were difficult to carry out effectively because many were reluctant to be vaccinated, it was difficult to get good vaccine, and the process was unpleasant and often failed.
