Apothecaries played an important role in the American Revolution. With the closing of American ports to foreign ships, and the disruption of trade with England during the war, America was forced to manufacture the drugs and supplies necessary for their army. At the time the revolution began, there were only around thirty-five hundred doctors in America (PBS Online 1997). To make matters worse, there were few supplies available at the start of the war. War hospitals had attached ap
othecary labs, but the apothecaries often did not have the equipment necessary to prepare needed drugs. Because of this, private apothecaries provided many of the supplies needed for the war including drugs such as rhubarb, aloe, Epsom salt, Peruvian bark, antimony, and opium for sick and injured soldiers.