Drug Supplies in the American Revolution

The study examines how the Revolutionary War disrupted colonial access to medical drugs, producing acute shortages for army hospitals and civilian markets. It traces early local efforts to assemble medicine chests, the Continental Congress's tentative supply measures, and the patchwork contributions of private druggists, prize captures, and privateers. Logistic breakdowns, administrative discord, and uneven regional availability produced severe strain at encampments and hospitals until foreign alliance enabled more regular shipments. Episodes such as the hardships at winter encampments illustrate the human consequences of fiscal and transport failures, while wartime commerce and later coordination gradually eased the crisis.