Fearful Ravages: Yellow Fever in New Orleans, 1796-1905

Yellow Fever in New Orleans, 1796-1905 by Benjamin Trask Now back in print, with a brand new cover!   New Orleans is one of the premier vacation destinations in the United States. Just a walk through the French Quarter can make the trip worthwhile. For those who cannot make the journey, the flavor and sounds of Louisiana travel well. The ambiance of the Big Easy has become so dominant that multicultural food and music festivals inspired by the people of the Pelican State thrive across the globe. Even Mardi Gras has scores of imitators.  Unfortunately, not all impressions of the Crescent City have been so inviting. In the nineteenth century, New Orleans was stigmatized by an extremely high mortality rate. One of the major causes of this frightening annual death toll was yellow fever. The sporadic arrival of fever caused tens of thousands of citizens to flee; while at the same time, anxious neighbors in nearby towns tracked the fever's movement. The severity of yellow fever epidemics was