Episode #85: 1793 Timeline Twist & The Great American Plague

4/12/2026: On today’s episode, Valerie’s Timeline Twist features a smattering of 1793 major events, the awful (unintended?) ramifications of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, Dominique Jean Larrey’s “Flying Ambulances”, the short-lived and totally unflattering Belly Pad Craze, and a butter-heavy “Pan-Cake” recipe from the Knight Family Cookbook. Next, Amy Jo covers the panic, and devastation of the yellow fever epidemic that devastated Philadelphia in the second half of 1793. In a time when the miasma theory reigned, origin theories were shaky and therefore treatments were, shall we say, creative? Citizens (and some doctors) fled the city, while city  leaders leaned on the Freed African Society with unfortunate results. There were heroes, but few were exempt from the sad chaos.

Cover Photo: From the 4 Frame of Yellow Fever Progression - #3 Jaundice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0zK5ggTyYQ

On Jan. 9, 1793, the 1st U.S. manned balloon flight unfolded as Jean Pierre Blanchard, using a hydrogen-filled balloon, flew from Philadelphia to New Jersey. Launched from the prison yard at Philadelphia's Walnut Street Jail, Blanchard's balloon remained airborne for 46 minutes. This #postcard, preserved by the State #Archives, captures the famous flight.

Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin Lithograph: Framed Antique Technology Art

Dent, William. 1793. Female Whimsicalities. BM

Cruikshank, Isaac (after George Moutard Woodward) 16 Aug1793. Cestina Warehouse or the Belly Piece Shop. British Museum.

"Pan-Cake" Recipe from the Knight Family Cookbook

Images from the acclaimed 1987 film, Summer School

4 Frames of Yellow Fever Progression

Arch Street Wharf

This clipping comes from a Philadelphia newspaper during the outbreak, which was one of the most severe instances of the disease in U.S. history.

Dr. Benjamin Rush - Ol’ Purge and Bleed

Ship of Death Book Cover

1892 etching titled "Death of Aurelio Caballero due to yellow fever in Veracruz," by Jose Guadalupe Posada. Source: Wikimedia.org.

Sources/Photo Sources

Intro Sources:

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=141071

Timeline Twist Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1793

https://www.britannica.com/event/Fugitive-Slave-Acts 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_gin

https://freedomcenter.org/voice/eli-whitney-cotton-gin/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_ambulance#Early_battlefield_treatment 

https://thebabyhistorian.com/2022/10/26/the-belly-pad-craze-of-1793-baby-history/

https://www.facebook.com/ChawtonHouse/posts/happy-shrove-tuesdaypancake-daythis-recipe-is-from-the-knight-family-cookbook-pu/10157866597190821/ 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1793

Timeline Twist Photo Sources:

https://thebabyhistorian.com/2022/10/26/the-belly-pad-craze-of-1793-baby-history/#jp-carousel-7468

https://www.facebook.com/PATrailsofHistory/posts/onthisday-on-jan-9-1793-the-1st-us-manned-balloon-flight-unfolded-as-jean-pierre/1301983605309151/

https://www.facebook.com/ChawtonHouse/posts/happy-shrove-tuesdaypancake-daythis-recipe-is-from-the-knight-family-cookbook-pu/10157866597190821/

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1010427491/eli-whitneys-cotton-gin-lithograph 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/32510428555675728/

The Great American Plague Sources:

https://hsp.org/blogs/fondly-pennsylvania/mysterious-malady-philadelphia%E2%80%99s-yellow-fever-epidemic-1793 

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-21/yellow-fever-breaks-out-in-philadelphia 

https://eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEprime/1701-1800/LE1793Aug21Pprime.html#:~:text=The%20instant%20of%20greatest%20eclipse,Brown%20Lunation%20Number%20of%20%2D1600.

https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/distillations-pod/calamity-in-philadelphia/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1793 

https://youtu.be/SXBUKRuymY4?si=BPFjZk-7GFikcMxw

https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300194524/ship-of-death/

https://hiddencityphila.org/2020/05/bravery-and-bad-deeds-during-the-yellow-fever-outbreak-of-1793/ 

https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/distillations-pod/calamity-in-philadelphia/  

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6727299/

https://ir.library.louisville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1356&context=honors

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/fever-epidemic-philadelphia-1793/

https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/distillations-pod/calamity-in-philadelphia/

https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/yellow-fever-1793

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/inde-ajones-rallen-yellow-fever-1794.htm

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/politicsofyellowfever/index.html

https://hsp.org/blogs/fondly-pennsylvania/mysterious-malady-philadelphia%E2%80%99s-yellow-fever-epidemic-1793

The Great American Plague Photo Sources:

https://hiddencityphila.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Yellow-Fever-progression.jpg https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300194524/ship-of-death/ 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Arch_Street_Ferry.jpg/250px-Arch_Street_Ferry.jpg 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Benjamin_Rush_Painting_by_Peale_1783%2C_cropped.webp/500px-Benjamin_Rush_Painting_by_Peale_1783%2C_cropped.webp.png 

https://asm.org/articles/2021/may/history-of-yellow-fever-in-the-u-s

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2205886336184164&set=a.571083775032937&id=100063939583762