The virus that killed WWI young soldiers faster than the Germans at a North Carolina camp

The 1918 Flu Outbreak at Camp Greene

Camp Greene rose from nothing in just 90 days during summer 1917.

By December, this massive WWI training site held 60,000 young soldiers, nearly doubling Charlotte’s population. Then came the flu.

It struck first on September 20, 1918, when two feverish men checked into the base hospital. Within days, the virus ripped through the camp, hitting Black troops hardest.

Leaders locked down the facility on October 3, but death soon followed. By mid-October, coffins stacked floor to ceiling at the railroad station.

In all, nearly 300 soldiers died before the pandemic ended in early 1919. The Camp Greene Memorial now stands at Wilkinson Boulevard, telling a story of war’s unseen enemy.

Charlotte’s Population Nearly Doubled When Camp Greene Opened

Workers broke ground on Camp Greene July 23, 1917. The military hired 7,856 people to build the 2,300-acre camp in just 90 days.

By December 1917, about 60,000 soldiers lived there, almost doubling Charlotte’s population of 46,000. The camp grew into its own military town with a hospital, post office, bakery, YMCA, streetcar lines, and airfield.

More than 14,000 Black troops came from northeastern states during 1918. The packed barracks created perfect conditions for sickness to spread quickly.

Two Soldiers With Fevers Sparked a Deadly Chain Reaction

On September 20, 1918, two soldiers with mild fevers checked into a white ward at the Base Hospital. Within five days, patients, nurses, and orderlies in that ward got serious flu symptoms.

Staff quickly put the ward under lockdown, which stopped it from spreading to other areas at first. On September 22, the Base Hospital recorded the first five official flu cases from different units across the camp.

Black Soldiers Fell Sick Before White Troops

Four days after the first ward outbreak, many cases hit Black soldiers.

The sickness showed up in Company D, 810th Pioneer Infantry and Companies B and C of labor battalions.

White soldiers got sick later than Black troops. Hospital workers opened empty wards as they quickly filled with patients.

Because of segregation, Black soldiers stayed in separate wards, often with worse care than white patients.

The Virus Raced Through the Camp Like Wildfire

By September 26, cases jumped to 23 soldiers from seven different groups. September 28 marked the real start of the widespread outbreak.

The hospital began putting new cases in isolation to stop further spread. The virus moved from one group to another across the huge camp.

Medical staff worked hard to catch pneumonia early, since most deaths came from pneumonia after the flu.

Soldiers Got Trapped Behind Camp Gates

On October 3, 1918, Camp Greene leaders locked down the facility.

The new rules stopped soldiers from leaving camp or going into Charlotte except for truly needed business. Camp officials had seen the virus tear through other military camps and wanted to protect their troops.

The camp told civilians to stay away. Charlotte fought against lockdown, with city officials putting business ahead of health concerns.

Bodies Piled Up Faster Than They Could Be Buried

The first flu death at Camp Greene happened on October 11, 1918.

The worst part of the outbreak hit during the week of September 28 to October 4. October 2 saw 412 hospital admissions, 426 discharges, and 30 deaths in just one day.

Local funeral homes got overwhelmed, with 25 untouched bodies at 5 p.m. and 47 more in the base hospital morgue.

The military sent embalmers to help the local funeral homes handle the crisis.

Hospital Staff Sent 438 Telegrams in One Day

October 3 brought 525 new hospital admissions and 46 deaths. The total patients reached 3,659, pushing medical resources to the limit.

New patients looked sicker than before, with many dying within hours or days. Pneumonia grew so quickly that men were already toxic when they reached medical care.

Hospital staff sent 438 telegrams on October 3, telling families about deaths or critical illnesses.

Train Station Became a Makeshift Morgue

Within two weeks of the first death, the death rate shot up. Soldiers’ coffins at the camp’s railroad station stacked from floor to ceiling.

The sad sight became a stark symbol of how badly the outbreak hit young soldiers. Workers prepared bodies for shipment home to families across the country.

Many young men who trained for combat in France died before ever seeing the enemy.

Unequal Care Led to Higher Deaths Among Black Troops

During the entire outbreak, 413 soldiers died at Camp Greene. Black troops had lower infection rates but higher pneumonia rates and death rates.

White doctors’ poor knowledge about treating Black patients made the death toll worse. Segregated medical facilities and lower quality care hurt outcomes for Black soldiers.

The few Black medical officers struggled to care for hundreds of sick troops with limited resources.

New Cases Dropped to Just 14 Per Day

By early November, new cases started dropping dramatically. The camp considered the epidemic over on November 9, with only 14 new cases reported that day.

Total deaths from the outbreak reached nearly 300 people by early 1919. The Armistice ending World War I came November 11, just as the epidemic slowed down.

Studies showed barracks with more floor space per man had lower infection rates.

A Small Memorial Stands Where Thousands Once Trained

With the war over and the epidemic ended, Camp Greene wasn’t needed anymore. The camp started closing in early 1919 and workers completely took it apart by June 1919.

Today, a memorial stands at Wilkinson Boulevard and Monument Street. The neighborhood called Camp Greene now sits on land where the military facility once stood.

The memorial honors both the training mission and the soldiers who lost their lives to disease rather than combat.

Visiting Alleghany Street, North Carolina

You can explore Camp Greene’s history at the 27-acre park on Alleghany Street, about a mile west of Uptown Charlotte.

The free park has paved trails leading to concrete foundations from the original barracks and hospital buildings where the 1918 flu killed hundreds of soldiers.

Check out the memorial monument at Wilkinson Boulevard and Monument Street, plus a historical marker on West Morehead Street.

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library also has a digital exhibit called “Doughboys & Camp Greene” online.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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