Eisenhower's Quarters

Eisenhower's Quarters. Fort George G. Meade. , With the signing of the armistice ending World War I, the overseas orders of Dwight David Eisenhower were canceled. Instead, he was transferred from Command of Camp Colt, the Army's Tank Training Center in Gettysburg, PA, to Camp Meade, Maryland., His tour at Camp Meade offered much that would later serve him well in World War II. Major Eisenhower graduated from the Camp Meade Tank School and served as commanding officer of several tank units. While here, Eisenhower met and became friends with Major George S. Patton, Jr. As two of the most promising officers in the Tank Corps, they were free to experiment with new concepts for armored warfare., Eisenhower's quarters stood near this marker. The quarters were actually a partitioned section of an old barracks. In 1919 the Army only provided quarters. Officers were expected to bear all maintenance and repair costs. Renovations to the barren and drab quarters cost Eisenhower "...about $700 or $800, not counting the labor Mamie and I had invested in the old barracks." Due to the low pay in the Army and the expense of repairs, they furnished the apartment with furniture salvaged from the camp dump. The family slept on army cots for a time, until they could afford beds., On December 23, 1920, their son, Doud Dwight "Icky" Eisenhower developed a high fever. He spent most of Christmas Day in bed, too sick to enjoy the holiday. Two days later the camp doctor diagnosed scarlet fever. An ambulance took the young boy to the post hospital, while Mamie was placed in isolation while her husband tended to their child. On January 2, 1921, little Doud died in his father's arms., The Eisenhowers left Camp Meade January 1922., This plaque erected in 1996 by the Fort Meade Museum.