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I rephrased some of the article to add some ambiguity where there was some minor editorializing and add a reference. Given that Trent was negotiating with a enemy who renewed their allegiance to him, it is unclear whether his remarks "Out of our regard to them we gave them two Blankets and an Handkerchief out of the Small Pox Hospital. I hope it will have the desired effect." refer to intentionally infecting them with small pox or merely as being effective tokens of good will.
I cited the source I've seen, although it appears the original, full journal appeared in a 1924 version of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review. Also, the journal has been ascribed to Ecuyer in other sources.
There appears to be an invoice which speaks much clearer as to Trent's intentions, but I haven't been able to track down anything but references to that document. Will add when I find it, as it's quoted in several scholarly publications, I mention it in the article without reference.
66.195.102.82 (talk) 20:09, 16 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Documentation of giving blankets?
Are you sure that the officers definitely gave infected blankest to the Native Americans? Where is your source for this specific event? From what I read, there is no documentation of the actual giving of the infected blankets.
You've been misinformed. Before the middle of the 20th century, historians knew that British officers considered trying to infect the Indians, but it was not clear if the attempt was made. Proof was discovered in an account book kept by William Trent in which he charged the government for the items he used "to Convey the Smallpox to the Indians". For an online scholarly source, see here. Google Trent's phrase to discover more sources.
Scholars have therefore known for 50 years that the attempt to infect the Indians was definitely made. (Whether the attempt worked is another question.) However, some modern authors, either because they have not read the modern scholarly literature, or because they have another agenda, still write as if there's no proof. They're wrong. Part of the confusion no doubt comes from the fact that a second incident in 1837 appears to have been fabricated. —KevinMyers15:37, 23 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Another source of confusion, by the way, is that there's no evidence that Amherst or Bouquet had anything to do with the blanket incident. They both discussed it, to be sure, but by that time Trent and Ecuyer had already made the attempt, and there's no record of Amherst or Bouquet communicating with anyone else about the idea.
The incident appears to have been common knowledge in Pittsburgh for years afterwards. David McClure (1748–1820), a missionary who passed through in 1772, wrote in his diary:
I was informed at Pittsburgh, that when the Delawares, Shawanese & others, laid seige suddenly and most traitorously to Fort Pitt, in 1764, in a time of peace, the people within, found means of conveying the small pox to them, which was far more destructive than the guns from the walls, or all the artillery of Col. Boquet's army, which obliged them to abandon the enterprise. (Diary of David McClure, pp. 92–93)
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