The Massachusetts Military Base Where Flu Killed More Soldiers Than Enemy Bullets in 1918

Fort Devens

Fort Devens housed 50,000 soldiers near Boston in 1918, though it was built for just 35,000. Men slept in packed barracks with beds nearly touching. They ate in crowded mess halls and trained shoulder to shoulder.

Then, September 1918 brought hell to Fort Devens. More American soldiers died here from disease than combat abroad.

Here’s the grim tale, documented at this historic base open for visits.

First Cases Arrive

Influenza hit Camp Devens on September 8, 1918. The virus had already spread through Boston’s Commonwealth Pier, sickening sailors in late August. Doctors mistook the first sick soldier for a meningitis case.

Within hours, more men from his company fell ill with similar symptoms. The virus moved quickly through shared spaces where soldiers ate and trained together. By September 9, dozens more men reported fever and body aches.

Hospital Overwhelmed

Ten days after the first case, Fort Devens medical facilities buckled under the flood of sick men. The base hospital and infirmaries filled beyond capacity. On September 22, 1,500 soldiers crowded into an infirmary built for 1,200.

Staff placed cots in hallways and turned storage rooms into patient areas. Regular barracks became makeshift wards. Hospital records show the worst day was September 29, with 788 new patients in just 24 hours.

Rapid Disease Progression

Healthy soldiers at morning roll call collapsed by afternoon. Men in the hospital developed severe pneumonia within hours of showing first symptoms.

Distinctive brown spots appeared on patients’ cheeks shortly after admission. Their skin turned blue as oxygen levels dropped, starting at the ears and spreading across the face.

Many died within hours, struggling to breathe as fluid filled their lungs. Unlike normal flu, this strain hit young, healthy men between 20 and 40 the hardest.

Medical Response Team Arrives

Army Surgeon General William Gorgas sent his top experts to investigate. Victor Vaughan from the University of Michigan led the team, joined by William Henry Welch from Johns Hopkins and respiratory specialist Rufus Cole from the Rockefeller Institute.

Vaughan described seeing hundreds of strong young soldiers with blue faces fighting for breath. Records show 63 men died on the day the team arrived at camp. Even these experienced doctors were shocked by what they witnessed.

Shocking Autopsy Findings

Doctors performing autopsies found unusual damage unlike typical pneumonia. Lungs showed severe bleeding and swelling not seen in ordinary flu cases. Dr. Welch, normally calm after decades studying disease, became visibly upset during his first Camp Devens autopsy.

Seeing the blue, swollen lungs with foamy fluid, he exclaimed, “This must be some new kind of infection or plague.” Bodies piled up so quickly that doctors stepped around corpses to reach the autopsy area.

Medical Staff Crisis

The camp normally had 25 doctors but quickly increased to 250 as the crisis grew. Many medical workers caught influenza while caring for patients. Staff worked until they collapsed from exhaustion.

With many doctors already serving overseas, medical students were rushed in as emergency help. Each medical worker cared for dozens of critically ill patients at once. Doctors felt helpless as young men died despite their best efforts.

Devastating Death Toll

By September’s end, Camp Devens counted 9,329 flu cases and 218 deaths. The daily death rate climbed to 100 soldiers, overwhelming the camp’s ability to handle the dead.

Eventually, over 14,000 soldiers at Camp Devens caught influenza – about one-quarter of the camp. The final death count reached 757. The camp ran out of coffins. Bodies stacked up in makeshift morgues while waiting for burial arrangements.

Emergency Measures

Medical experts recommended 16 ways to control the outbreak. The most urgent was stopping all transfers in and out of Camp Devens until the epidemic ended. Officials turned a large barracks into an extra morgue.

Special trains came to take bodies away. Leaders banned all soldier gatherings to limit spread. Training stopped, meals were staggered, and recreation ended. The camp essentially became a massive hospital operation.

Spread Beyond Camp Devens

Before travel restrictions took effect, soldiers from Devens transferred to Camp Upton on Long Island, bringing the virus with them. Camp Upton reported its first cases on September 13.

Within a month, influenza reached every Army training camp in America. By September 23, records showed about 10,500 cases among Camp Devens personnel. The virus soon jumped to civilian populations. Nearby towns set up emergency hospitals as the outbreak spread.

Impact on Military Operations

The epidemic halted military training across the country. Both recruits and instructors fell ill in massive numbers, and routine operations stopped. Fort Devens became completely demoralized.

All normal military work paused as focus shifted to caring for the sick and managing the dead. Military leaders canceled the nationwide draft call on September 26. Troop deployments to Europe faced delays as the virus spread rapidly through training camps.

Visiting Fort Devens

You’ll find Fort Devens Museum at 94 Jackson Road, Suite 305, Devens, MA 01434. The museum is open Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 AM to 3 PM, and every third Saturday of the month from 10 AM to 3 PM.

Admission is free, though donations are appreciated. The museum is wheelchair accessible and located on the third floor of its building. Look carefully as it’s tucked away with minimal signage.

The compact museum houses exhibits spanning from WWI through the Gulf War, including a special display on the 1918 influenza outbreak.

Read More from WhenInYourState.com:

• The British Army’s Worst Day in America Happened Along This 16-Mile Road in Massachusetts
• The WWII Destroyer That Defied Death Is Now a Floating Memorial to the Greatest Generation
• America’s Oldest Floating Warship Defeated British Vessels & Now Houses Naval Treasures in Boston Harbor