313th Infantry, 79th Division, American Expeditionary Force, World War I photograph collection

The 79th Division of the National Army of the United States was one of sixteen divisions created in the Spring of 1917 for the emergency expansion of armed services during World War I, authorized by the Army Act of May 18, 1917. Construction began in July of that year on a training center in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, which became Camp Meade, named for Major General George Gordan Meade, Civil War commander of the Army of the Potomac. The 79th Division was organized at Camp Meade in August 1917, with personnel composed of selective service men from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. Additional personnel from other states were added in June 1918 prior to the Division's departure for the European front. The Division had 26,150 troops in August 1918.

The 79th Division's 313th Infantry Regiment was headed by Colonel Claude B. Sweezey, a West Point graduate. Men arrived at Camp Meade in September 1917 and training got underway. The Regiment was known as "Baltimore's Own" due to the large number of men from the city. By July 1918, the Regiment with 3,667 men sailed to France to join the active front near Verdun, taking part in the Meuse-Argonne offensive in September-November 1918. The troops remained in the region after the armistice order, enforcing the terms of the order. By June 1919, they returned to the United States. In the period of intense combat between September 12 and November 11, 1918, casualties were heavy in the 313th Regiment: 1,200 soldiers were wounded (78 mortally), with 223 killed outright in combat.