Fort Meade History

Fort George G. Meade became an Army installation in 1917. Authorized by Act of Congress in May 1917, it was one of 16 cantonments built for troops drafted for the war with the Central Powers in Europe. The present Maryland site was selected on June 23, 1917. Actual construction began in July. The first contingent of troops arrived here that September.

The post was originally named Camp Meade for Major General George Gordon Meade, whose defensive strategy at the Battle of Gettysburg proved a major factor in turning the tide of the Civil War in favor of the North. During World War I, more than 100,000 men passed through Fort Meade, a training site for three infantry divisions, three training battalions and one depot brigade. In 1928, when the post was renamed Fort Leonard Wood, Pennsylvanians registered such a large protest that the installation was permanently named Fort George G. Meade on March 5, 1929. This action was largely the result of a rider attached to the Regular Army Appropriation Act by a member of the House of Representatives from the Keystone State.

Fort Meade became a training center during World War II, its ranges and other facilities used by more than 200 units and approximately 3,500,000 men between 1942 and 1946. The wartime peak-military personnel figure at Fort Meade was reached in March, 1945--70,000. With the conclusion of World War II, Fort Meade reverted to routine peacetime activities, but was later to return to build-up status. Many crises, including Korea, West Berlin and Cuba, along with Vietnam-related problems, were to come.

One key post-World War II event at Fort Meade was the transfer from Baltimore, on June 15, 1947, of the Second U.S. Army Headquarters. This transfer brought an acceleration of post activity, because Second Army Headquarters exercised command over Army units throughout a then seven-state area. A second important development occurred on January 1, 1966, when the Second U.S. Army merged with the First U.S. Army. The consolidated headquarters moved from Fort Jay, N.Y. to Fort Meade to administer activities of Army installations in a 15-state area.

In August 1990, Fort Meade began processing Army Reserve and National Guard units from several states for the presidential call-up in support of Operation Desert Shield. In addition to processing reserve and guard units, Fort Meade sent two of its own active duty units--the 85th Medical Battalion and the 519th Military Police Battalion--to Saudi Arabia. In all, approximately 2,700 personnel from 42 units deployed from Fort Meade during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

Today, Fort Meade provides support and services for 114 tenant units which include Headquarters, First U.S. Army-East, and the National Security Agency.

The Fort George G. Meade U.S. Army Museum in Building 4674 is located on Griffin Avenue across from Smallwood Hall. The museum is open to the general public and the admission is free. The museum was established in 1963 as the First U.S. Army Museum. Its purpose was to honor the service and sacrifice of the American soldier. In 1973 the museum became permanently established here as the Fort George G. Meade Museum. Its purpose now is four-fold: to collect, preserve, study and exhibit military artifacts, particularly those items related to Fort Meade, First U.S. Army, as well as the local region; and to provide educational services. These services include identification of military artifacts, lectures on military history and the history of Fort Meade; and special exhibits such as displays of U.S. or captured foreign materials which can be arranged for by civic groups, active Army or reserve component units.

The museum is open Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. The office is open Sunday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (301) 677-6966/7054.