Lord Jeffrey Amherst Used Smallpox-infected Blankets for American Indians

Story:

British Murderers: Lord Jeffrey Amherst …. First Documented … British Biological Warfare Colonizer …

Gave Smallpox Infected Blankets To American Indians To Decimate Their Population and Establish Colonies !!!

Lord Jeffrey Amherst was commanding general of British forces in North America during the final battles of the so-called French & Indian war (1754-1763). He won victories against the French to acquire Canada for England and helped make England the world’s chief colonizer at the conclusion of the Seven Years War among the colonial powers (1756-1763).

Smallpox blankets :

Despite his fame, Jeffrey Amherst’s name became tarnished by stories of smallpox-infected blankets used as germ warfare against American Indians. These stories are reported, for example, in Carl Waldman’s Atlas of the North American Indian [NY: Facts on File, 1985]. Waldman writes, in reference to a siege of Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) by Chief Pontiac’s forces during the summer of 1763:

Captain Simeon Ecuyer had bought time by sending smallpox-infected blankets and handkerchiefs to the Indians surrounding the fort — an early example of biological warfare — which started an epidemic among them. Amherst himself had encouraged this tactic in a letter to Ecuyer. [p. 108]

Some people have doubted these stories; other people, believing the stories, nevertheless assert that the infected blankets were not intentionally distributed to the Indians, or that Lord Jeff himself is not to blame for the germ warfare tactic.

Analysis:

The message in various forms doing rounds on internet since many years talks about a disturbing incident that the Britisher Lord Jeffrey Amherst gave Smallpox infected Blankets to American Indians in 1760s — to decimate their population and establish colonies. Yes, it is an unfortunate fact!

About Jeffery Amherst

Jeffery Amherst (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) served as an officer in the British Army and as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. Amherst is primarily remembered for the victory against the French in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) that resulted in the surrender of Montreal–after which Amherst named his estate–and Canada by the French to the British.

His Notoriety

After the triumph in war over French, Jeffery Amherst became notorious by mishandling Indian affairs. Amherst even ignored the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs Sir William Johnson’s advice to continue the gift exchange tradition with the British-allied Indians after the surrender of Canada. Amherst used to believe in punishment for poor behavior rather than rewards for good behavior. With such attitude, Jeffery Amherst became the first military strategist to knowingly engage in a biological warfare, using smallpox-infected blankets to spread the deadly disease among Native Americans.

Smallpox Infected Blankets

In the spring of 1763, western Indians began a series of frontier attacks known as Pontiac’s Rebellion. After some success of this native uprising, Amherst suggested Colonel Henry Bouquet that the British can expose the rebelling Indians to smallpox, as germ warfare against the American Indians. To achieve this goal of Amherst, Bouquet suggested infected blankets (and handkerchiefs) as an effective means. Following this inhumane act, few months later, a smallpox epidemic engulfed Ohio Valley natives that reportedly killed three-quarters of the population.

Some people doubted these claims of using smallpox infected blankets and handkerchiefs, while others, believing the stories, nevertheless suggest that the infected blankets were not distributed intentionally to the Indians, or that Lord Jeffery Amherst is not to be blamed for the germ warfare tactic. However, there are some letters of Amherst’s correspondence during this time and many others that show the smallpox idea was not an anomaly. The letters are filled with comments and phrases that indicate a genocidal intent. One similar proof is the Journal of William Trent, who was the commander of local militia of the Pittsburgh townspeople, where in his entry for May 24, 1763 read:

[May] 24th [1763] The Turtles Heart a principal Warrior of the Delawares and Mamaltee a Chief came within a small distance of the Fort Mr. McKee went out to them and they made a Speech letting us know that all our [POSTS] as Ligonier was destroyed, that great numbers of Indians [were coming and] that out of regard to us, they had prevailed on 6 Nations [not to] attack us but give us time to go down the Country and they desired we would set of immediately. The Commanding Officer thanked them, let them know that we had everything we wanted, that we could defend it against all the Indians in the Woods, that we had three large Armys marching to Chastise those Indians that had struck us, told them to take care of their Women and Children, but not to tell any other Natives, they said they would go and speak to their Chiefs and come and tell us what they said, they returned and said they would hold fast of the Chain of friendship. Out of our regard to them we gave them two Blankets and an Handkerchief out of the Small Pox Hospital. I hope it will have the desired effect. They then told us that Ligonier had been attacked, but that the Enemy were beat of

There is another, small proof of the genuine hatred Jeffery Amherst had for Indians. The town of Amherst, Massachusetts, was named for Lord Jeffery even before he became a Lord and Amherst College was later named after the town. As you can see in Image Gallery, the Amherst College china plates depicted mounted Englishman with sword chasing Indians on foot. They were in use until the 1970’s.

Picture of Amherst College China plate — Amherst College China plate

To Conclude

Lord Jeffery Amherst was in fact a known advocate of the extermination of Native Americans, who also approved the distribution of smallpox infected blankets to native towns in New England. Notable here is yet another disturbing fact when the British also deployed this smallpox tactic against native tribes in New South Wales of Australia in 1789.