In 1888 the population of Jacksonville dropped from 130,000 to 14,000 almost overnight. If you weren't among the fleeing mass your future was dim. 5,000 of the few remaining residents would contract Yellow Fever and almost 10% of these souls would be claimed by "Yellow Jack." There was no escape....
In Georgia citizens threatened to pull up the tracks if a train from Jacksonville tried to pass through even if it ran at full speed with the passengers locked in and the windows sealed.
Refugees from Jacksonville were shot at, turned back or locked in cattlecars in various places. Guards armed with shotguns sealed all roads out of Jacksonville and refugee camps were set up to detain escapees under quarantine. Trains were rerouted around the city and steamboat lines suspended service.
During the six month quarantine life was hell. All information about the fever was contradictory. Some causes reported were, microbes that would thrive until there was nothing left for them to feed on and the alignment of the planets. Cannons fired every five minutes all night long on street corners, the concussion of the artillery was to drive away the "microbes." Food stores were minimal and protected by cannons loaded with a combination of slugs, shot and ten penny nails.
"Our invaders (the Yellow Jack microbes) drive us with their spears into the sea; the waves rise upon and drive us back again upon the cruel spears of the invaders and of all men we are most miserable”.
Victims of "Yellow Jack" were buried in mass graves. Workers in this area (ground zero) occasionally uncover skeletal remains of these poor souls.
