Observations on the Diseases of Seamen. Sir Gilbert Blane
Barbadoes, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Martinico.—Four frigates, and as many sloops of war, either foundered or were wrecked, and about one thousand seamen perished in them. One of the buildings of the hospital at Barbadoes was entirely demolished by the impetuosity of the sea, which, having risen to a great height, dashed a ship against it, and twenty-three seamen were buried in the ruins3.
The Montague suffered most on this occasion, and was also most subject to sickness and mortality, brought on in consequence of the great fatigue and hardships of the men in bringing her into port and refitting her; for the ship was almost torn to pieces both in the rigging and hull, and the bedding and other necessaries and conveniencies were entirely destroyed. The fever that prevailed on board at this time was of the most malignant kind known in this climate; and the worst cases arose in watering, and the other necessary duties on shore, from which the men would sometimes return frantic, and die in a few hours. There was a party of soldiers on board; and as they were not called upon to perform any duties on shore, they had but little sickness in companion of the sailors.
The other ships having suffered less from the storm, were also less sickly, as it was not necessary for them to remain so long in the unhealthy Carenage to repair.
The only disease that prevailed at this time, in these two ships, was fevers, there being few or no fluxes, though they had been so frequent in the former part of the year. Though fevers and fluxes depend on the same general causes, yet when these causes exist in a higher degree, it would appear that they are more apt to produce fevers. Thus the exhalations of the earth from marshes are more apt to produce fevers; and mere excesses of heat and cold, or moisture, are more apt to produce fluxes; just as in Europe a catarrh, which may be considered as a local febrile affection, as well as a dysentery, will be excited by exposure to cold or damp, without any specific bad quality in the air.
The Ajax and Montague are the only two ships of those left in the West Indies, which are included in the estimate of sickness and mortality in November and December, and they bear a very great proportion to the whole; for out of forty-four that died in fourteen ships of the line in November, twenty died in the Montague, and five in the Ajax; and out of forty-three, the whole number of deaths in December in twenty-one ships of the line, ten were of the Montague, and eleven of the Ajax.
CHAP. III.
Account of the Health of the Fleet from January, 1781, till July, 1781, both Months included.——Arrival of seven Ships of the Line from England—Increase of Sickness in consequence of a Descent on St. Vincent’s—Long Cruise to windward of Martinico—Great Prevalence of Scurvy—Difference of Health in different Ships—New Ships not more unhealthy than others—Why Frigates are more healthy than Ships of the Line—Remarkable Cure of Scurvy in two Ships—Essence of Malt—Vegetables most antiscorbutic in their natural State—Advantage of supplying Refreshments on board of Ships in preference to Hospitals.
We are now come to that period in which our fleet was reinforced with seven ships of the line, which arrived at Barbadoes from England on the 5th of January, 1781, under the command of Lord Hood. This addition, with two which had arrived in November, made the force upon this station again amount to twenty-one ships of the line.
TABLE IV.
Shewing the Number of each Disease on board on the First of each Month, the Numbers sent to the Hospital, and Dead, in the Course of the Month.
KEY:
B On board.
H Sent to the Hospital.
D Dead.
| SHIPS’ NAMES. N. B. Those marked *, arrived with Lord Hood. | FEBRUARY, 1781. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fever. | Flux. | Scurvy. | |||||||
| B | H | D | B | H | D | B | H | D | |
| Sandwich | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| * Barfleur | 8 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| * Gibraltar | 25 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Triumph | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 8 | 0 |
| Centaur | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 8 |
| Torbay | 6 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Monarch | 13 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Terrible | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Montagu | 40 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 |