National Archives exhibit George Washington's worries about biowarfare

Writing to John Hancock, the president of the Continental Congress, Washington said every precaution was being taken to prevent smallpox from spreading to the Army and throughout the colonies. Smallpox claimed the lives of more than 130,000 people on the American continent from 1775 to 1782, according to the National Archives and Records Administration.

Photo: National Archives exhibit George Washington's worries about biowarfare

National Archives exhibit George Washington's worries about biowarfare

For the "Eyewitness" exhibit, curator Stacey Bredhoff drew quotes from people of high consequence who made vivid reports. One is Thomas Jefferson, a future president who was serving as U.S. minister to Paris in 1789 when he witnessed a mob capture the Bastille, a fortress-prison of the French monarchy. It was the beginning of the French Revolution, the AP reports.

The material for the archives exhibit comes from letters, photos, paintings, and audio and video recordings, such as films taken by Apollo 8 during a voyage to the moon. Among the items is a transcript of a 1990 telephone conversation between President George H.W. Bush and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on the reunification of Germany after 45 years of division that followed World War II.

Alabama state troopers had received the order to advance. After putting on their gas masks, "they turned toward us, beating us with nightsticks," Lewis said. "Forty-one years later, I don't recall how I made it across the bridge."