Yellow fever

In this letter from James Carroll to his wife Jennie Carroll sent from Las Animas Hospital in Havana, Cuba, where he is stationed for the United States Yellow Fever Commission, Carroll informs Jennie that he will be leaving the next day for Santiago to investigate an outbreak of yellow fever. He hopes to send home a case of guava paste soon for the children. He laments the lack of patients in camp.

In this letter from James Carroll to his wife Jennie Carroll sent from Camp Columbia Cuba, where he is stationed for the United States Yellow Fever Commission, Carroll discusses matters of personal finance. Additionally, he details the expected arrival of Dr. Reed as well as a meeting Carroll had with General Baldwin of the 7th Cavalry. Carroll asks Jennie to retrieve copies of the "Army and Navy Journal" that would contain copies of Dr. Lazear's obituary. Carroll informs Jennie that he will not be returning to the states until at least the end of the year. Additionally, Carroll expresses his concern that Reed who he describes as "my friend" will not permit him to receive recognition [presumably for the discoveries on the cause of Yellow Fever].

In this letter from James Carroll to his wife Jennie Carroll sent from Camp Columbia Cuba, where he is stationed for the United States Yellow Fever Commission, Carroll laments that he has received a bill for life insurance but does currently have the funds to pay the premium and is uncertain whether he will be able to pay the premium in the future so he will not renew while this is in question. Carroll informs Jennie that Reed is returning to the States in the next few days and that he will be sending extra clothes and blankets back in a trunk so that he will have less to bring back when he returns. He asks Jennie to send him an article containing a report of his that he believes is called "A Fifth Case of Fungus Foot" so he may give it to Dr. Agramonte. Dr. Agramonte invited Carroll to attend a dinner where their paper will be read, Carroll believes this dinner will be reported in the papers.

In this letter from Walter Reed to James Carroll, Reed acknowledges the receipt of the Berkefeld filter and valve attachments that Carroll sent to him. Reed is thankful that Carroll's patient is doing better and is hopeful that Carroll can preserve the infected mosquitoes. Additionally, Reed is worried that Carroll may not have a better opportunity to use the filtrate before Carroll returns to the U.S. Reed discusses that classes at the Columbian Exposition will begin soon and he hopes a new laboratory will be outfitted for larger classes. In conclusion Reed asks Carroll if he had heard that the Marine Hospital Service started "A Yellow Fever Institute" with the goal of studying yellow fever.
Included is a transcript of the letter.

In this letter from James Carroll to his wife Jennie Carroll sent from Las Animas Hospital in Havana, Cuba, where he is stationed for the United States Yellow Fever Commission, Carroll informs Jennie that he has asked for an extension to conduct further studies. He tells her that he hopes to prove that healthy men should not die from yellow fever, and that he hopes to prove the effectiveness of inoculation. In conclusion he asks her not to mention what was included in this letter to anyone.

In this typescript piece, Richard J. Behles, Historical Collections librarian for the Health Sciences and Human Services Library at the time this was written, describes the James Carroll, Yellow Fever Commission Letters collection housed in the Historical Collections. These letters have been digitized and transcribed and a collection has been created for them in the UMB Digital Archive.