Gorgas, William Crawford

William Gorgas was born on October 3, 1854, near Mobile, Alabama. The son of General Josiah Gorgas, William graduated from the University of the South in 1875. General Josiah Gorgas was an officer in the Confederacy during the American Civil War, so it is perhaps not surprising that William was denied entrance to the premier American military college, the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. William was determined to have a military career, a prestigious career in earlier days, so he entered the military by way of a medical degree. In 1880 he entered the U.S. Army Medical Corps as an assistant surgeon.

William Gorgas’ life was fairly average for about two decades after entering the military. However, he was stricken by yellow fever early in his career, and thereafter he was immune, so was frequently drafted for service wherever yellow fever was a problem. Yellow fever was an enigma at that time, and its appearance, impact, and the inability to control the disease...