barracks

barracks, military housing facility, usually spoken of, or written of, in the plural. Though permanent buildings had occasionally been used to house troops in earlier times, the custom of billeting in private houses, inns, and other existing facilities had taken hold by the 18th century, when such “quartering of troops” was mentioned as an abuse in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. It was also considered bad for the soldiers’ morale, and a movement began for constructing permanent barracks wherever troops were regularly stationed. In the 19th century such buildings, mostly of brick, appeared all over Europe.

Temporary barracks of canvas or wood have occasionally been built in large numbers, for example, in the United States during the American Civil War and World War II. Modern barracks generally include plumbing facilities and sometimes recreation and kitchen arrangements.