When I was researching my Revolutionary War ancestors, I frequently came across the term “consumption” as a cause of death.

Being the curious guy I am I wanted to understand what this meant.  My first thought was that this was a “label” attached to any disease that doctors and patients in those early days could not understand.  Was this cancer?

No, “Consumption” was a term used for “Tuberculosis”.

Doctor Examining a Chest xray for signs of Tuberculosis

Doing some research via http://www.britannica.com, however concluded that “consumption” was the early label for the disease “Tuberculosis”.  Also known as “TB”, “Consumption”, “Phtisis” or “White Plague”.  The full article can be viewed here:

Britannica.com Tuberculosis Article

I wondered how “TB” would have impacted the troops of the Continental Army during the revolutionary war time.  Attached is a PBS article which identifies “TB” as one of the seven (yes – seven) health risks which George Washington had to deal with that could adversely impact a “standing” army during the Revolutionary War.  The impacts of “TB” were significant in addition to other health risks.

The following article identifies those seven major health risks George Washington had to deal with during the conflict and beyond:

Seven Major Health Risks for a Revolutionary War Soldier

Definition and impacts of Tuberculosis:

Britannica.com indicates that” “Tuberculosis (TB), infectious disease that is caused by the tubercle bacillus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In most forms of the disease, the bacillus spreads slowly and widely in the lungs, causing the formation of hard nodules (tubercles) or large cheese like masses that break down the respiratory tissues and form cavities in the lungs. Blood vessels also can be eroded by the advancing disease, causing the infected person to cough up bright red blood.