Fort George G. Meade: The First 100 Years

More Deadly Than War
The virulent form of the Spanish Influenza, perfected
in the conditions of the trenches overseas, arrived
in the United States on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 1918, at
Commonwealth Pier in Boston “…when three cases of
influenza were committed to the sick list.” The first cases
of influenza in Maryland appeared at Camp Meade on
Sept. 17, 1918. The influenza outbreak raged on Camp
Meade during September, October and part of November
affecting soldiers, civilian workers and medical staff. So
many of the camp’s nurses fell ill that Sisters of Mercy
volunteer nurses were brought in from various Catholic
institutions to assist physicians in the care of the sick.
As the death rate from influenza rose, military
officials began equating influenza deaths with those
on the battlefield. A memorial service for those who
died during the pandemic at Camp Meade was held
and the presiding officer read the names of each
dead soldier. As each name was read, the sergeant
BETWEEN THE WARS
saluted and said “Died on the field of honor, Sir.”
By Sept. 28, when the state filed its first official report
with the Public Health Service, state officials believed
there were 1,713 cases in the state of Maryland. The
real number, however, was probably much higher. The
Public Health Service believed the epidemic in Maryland
had traveled along the state’s transportation networks,
pointing to the routes men took from Baltimore to work
at the camp as a possible conduit for the disease’s spread
from Camp Meade to the state’s larger population.
***
(Pg. 79) Pvt. William Imhoff, Jr. and Pvt. Andrew Henry, 6
FA, peeling potatoes on KP duty, Sept. 19, 1938.
(Below) The Spanish Influenza stretched medical resources
at Base Hospital #42. This machine was used to sanitize
equipment in the hopes of halting the spread of the deadly
disease.
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