In 1877 a devastating yellow fever epidemic struck the Mississippi valley. The following year, Congress created a National Board of Health comprised of non-federal scientists who gathered to consider proposals to study that disease and others and to award grants to the best applications. These were the first grants awarded for medical research in the United States. The National Board of Health also exercised quarantine authority. It came under serious opposition from states rights advocates who wanted no federal intervention in quarantine and also clashed with the Marine Hospital Service over which body should lead the federal effort to respond to disease outbreaks. In 1873 Congress decided not to continue funding the Board, and its work ended, although it continued to exist on paper for another ten years.