Observations on the Diseases of Seamen. Sir Gilbert Blane
CHAP. II.
Account of the Health of the Fleet from August, 1780, till December following.——The Fleet divided—The principal Squadron goes to North America—Fluctuation between Fevers and Fluxes—The Alcide and Torbay the most sickly Ships—Health mended by the Climate and Diet in North America—Hurricane in the West Indies—Sufferings in consequence of it—Fevers the chief Disease.
The hurricane months approaching, the season for active operations in the West Indies was now over. The whole force of the enemy, consisting of thirty-fix French and Spanish ships of the line, having gone to St. Domingo in the end of July, ten sail of the line were detached after them from our station, for the protection of Jamaica. The Admiral sailed for North America in August, with eleven ships of the line, leaving six for the protection of the islands.
There was little alteration in the general state of the sick during the voyage to America, and indeed we found no diminution of the West-India heat, which at this season is at the greatest height, until we came to the 33° of N. latitude.
The only material alteration in point of health was in the Alcide and Torbay, which had arrived from England with a few men ill of fevers; but in the course of this voyage these two ships became as unhealthy as any that ever came under my observation. There was a greater number of sick on board of them than all the fleet besides, and it increased to such a degree, that upon their arrival at New York, which was in the middle of September, after a passage of three weeks, near one half of their men were unfit for duty. In the Alcide it was a fever that raged; in the Torbay it was a dysentery; and the unusual degree of sickness and mortality which appears in the Table for the month of September, was owing to the very sickly state of these two ships.
TABLE III.
Shewing the Number of Fevers and Fluxes on board on the First of each Month, and the Number sent to the Hospital in the Course of the Month.
Key: B On board. H Sent to the Hospital.
| SHIPS’ NAMES, AND Date of their Arrival. | MAY, 1780. | JUNE. | JULY. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fever. | Flux. | Fever. | Flux. | Fever. | Flux. | |||||||
| B | H | B | H | B | H | B | H | B | H | B | H | |
| Sandwich, 16th March | 6 | 0 | 16 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 16 | 3 |
| Terrible, 16th March | 0 | 0 | 40 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 86 | 75 | 3 | 25 | 60 | 24 |
| Triumph, 7th May | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 17 | ||
| Russell, 18th June | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Shrewsbury, 26th June | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Alcide, 30th July |
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