The 314th and the Cabin
THE CABIN
During the hectic days of the fall of 1917, Camp Meade (now Fort Meade), MD was the site of thousands of young soldiers being trained and prepared to fight in France in World War I. One such group of men was from the 314th Infantry Regiment, part of the 79th Infantry Division, raised from PA, DE, and MD. With some time on their hands during the 10 months of training at Camp Meade, some of the men decided to build a log cabin from trees felled on the reservation. It was located just beyond the Regimental Headquarters, and became sort of a shrine to the thousands of men who poured through the camp. It was something unique of soldierdom, and it stood as an insignia of the regiment.
About 450 men from the 314th Infantry Regiment lost their life in the war, and the survivors suggested that a memorial was needed. What better memorial than the cabin that had been built by some of the very men who fell in France. In 1921, log by log, stone by stone, the Cabin was taken down and transported from Camp Meade to the campus of the Washington Memorial Chapel. It was rededicated as a memorial to the fallen of the 314th in 1922.
Over the years, as the surviving members of the regiment died off, the 314th's cabin was open for visitors less and less frequently. In 1995, the World of Scouting Museum was looking for a place for their museum, and a symbiotic relationship was formed. A portion of the cabin is still dedicated to displaying relics from the 314th Infantry Regiment, while the majority of the cabin contains displays of Scouting memorabilia. The cabin is roughly 1100 square feet, heated and air conditioned.
Display
of items from the 314th
Volunteers help explain the 314th. Photo taken at the 2005 scout Pilgrimage.
Choose here
to visit the website of the 314th Infantry.