Quarantine, Staten Island 1833 Postcard

Quarantine, Staten Island William James Bennett 1833 The Staten Island Quarantine was involved with a series of attacks on the New York Marine Hospital in Staten Island known as "the Quarantine" and at that time the largest quarantine facility in the United State on September 1 and 2, 1858. The attacks, perpetrated mainly by residents of Staten Island, which had not yet joined New York City, were a result of longstanding local opposition to several quarantine facilities on the island's East Shore. During the attacks, arsonists set a large fire that completely destroyed the hospital compound. At trial, the leaders of the attack argued that they had destroyed the Quarantine in self-defense. Though there were no deaths as a result of the attacks, the conflict serves as an important historical case study of the use of quarantines.