Fort Meade (2)

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Fort Meade (2) (1917-Present) - First established as a U.S. Army World War I National Army Mobilization and Training Camp in 1917 near Admiral, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Named Camp Meade in G.O. 95, 18 Jul 1917, after Major General George G. Meade (Cullum 804), who commanded Union forces at Gettysburg during the U.S. Civil War. Renamed Fort George G. Meade on 5 Mar 1929. Active military installation. Commonly known as Fort Meade.

Fort Meade Troops in Front of Bldg. 4553
Fort Meade Officer Quarters

World War I (1917-1918)

General Kuhn at Camp Meade 1917
WWI Draftees Arriving at Camp Meade 1917

Camp Meade was one of sixteen U.S. Army National Army Mobilization and Training Camps established in 1917 to train and integrate National Army units for service in a U.S. Army division. Camp Meade was established in July 1917 under the supervision of construction quartermaster Major Ralph F. Proctor. The camp was to have a capacity of about 56,000 officers and enlisted men that would become the 79th U.S. Infantry Division. The camp was mostly complete in September 1917 at an eventual cost of $ 17,000,000.

Camp Meade, Maryland 1918 - Titled: "Washing mess kits, birdseye view, Camp Meade, Maryland"

The first commander of the camp was Major General Joseph E. Kuhn (Cullum 3058) who formed the 79th U.S. Infantry Division 25 Aug 1917 and initiated troop training. The 79th arrived in September 1917 and departed for France in Jul 1918. The division distinguished itself in combat suffering 3,223 casualties. The 79th returned to the U.S. in May 1919 and was demobilized.

At the end of the war, the camp became a demobilization center. The post was renamed Fort Leonard Wood (2) in 1928, but angry congressmen held up Army appropriations until it was renamed Fort George G. Meade on 5 Mar 1929.


World War II (1941-1945)

Fort Meade was a training center during World War II and more than 3 million men passed through the post between 1942 and 1946. Starting in 1943 the post housed a POW camp for German and Italian prisoners of war.

Current Status

National Security Agency Headquarters, Fort Meade.
Fort Meade Museum

An active military installation and a part of the U.S. Army Military District of Washington. Houses the National Security Agency and the Fort George Meade Museum.


Location: Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

Maps & Images

Lat: 39.10029 Long: -76.74010

  • Multi Maps from ACME
  • Maps from Bing
  • Maps from Google
  • Elevation: 174'


GPS Locations:

Sources:

  • Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 387
  • Ayres, Leonard Porter, The War with Germany: A Statistical Summary, U.S. War Department, 2nd Ed, 1919, 147 pages
  • Rinaldi, Richard A., The US Army in World War I - Orders of Battle, Tiger Lily Publications LLC, 2004, 244 pages
  • Brief Histories of Divisions, U.S. Army: 1917-1918, U.S.A. General Staff, June 1921, 92 pages
  • Morden, Lt. Colonel Earle B., The Work of the Construction Division of the United States Army from Coast to Coast, 1917-1919, The Journal of the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia, Vol XXXVII-3, March 1920, No. 184, (Google Books)
  • USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 2512196


Links:

Visited: 30 Jul 2010


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