THE YELLOW DEATH : Wilmington and the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1862, Fryar, Jack E. — $10.95 pb
32 pgs. illustrated 2007, Elementary, middle school
Before the coming of modern medicine, people living near the swampy coastal areas of North Carolina were frequently plagued by diseases that left many sick and dead. One of the worst of these was yellow fever. Carried by mosquitoes, the disease was a mystery to doctors until 1898. While the Civil War raged throughout the country, and Union warships stood offshore to stop the blockade runners making for the Confederate port at Wilmington, the city was full of soldiers and speculators, sailors, slaves and citizens. Before the yellow fever epidemic ended in November, a full third of Wilmington’s population would be dead.

Curriculum Applications: 4th and 8th Grade Social Studies and Language Arts

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