(excerpted from sources from the Eisenhower Presidential Library and others)
Edited by John Varner
In the years following World War I, America was in a state of cautious optimism. Having avoided the horrific human and economic costs of The Great War in Europe but receiving much credit for having ended it in 1918, the United States was ready to "grow" its economy and nation to solidify its stature in the eyes of the world.
The US Army was very concerned that it had been unprepared for entry into World War I and wanted to hold on to the gains it made in modernizing both equipment and machinery.
The Army felt that it needed to become fully mechanized in order to fight future wars. The motor vehicle was still somewhat of a novelty in most parts of the nation, and the Army wanted
to prove that wheels made more sense than hooves for mobility. The Army also was concerned that defending against an "Asiatic enemy" attacking the West Coast would require a good system of
roads and transport beyond the extensive railroad system already in place. Further, the Army wanted to stay in the forefront of the American public's thinking after its successes in the Great War.
With great fanfare and publicity, the Army's Motor Transport Corps decided to organize a military convoy to drive from coast to coast, from Washington D.C. to San Francisco, traversing the
newly created Lincoln National Highway. The trip would prove the need for good roads and would also show off the military's capacity to utilize modern warfare's machinery. The major objectives
of the expedition were to test various military vehicles, many developed too late for use in World War I, and to determine by actual experience the feasibility of moving an army across the continent.
One example was to test Harvey Firestone's new pneumatic tires. It would also remind the American public of the energy, power, and might of the Army as well as aid in recruiting. Eighty-one vehicles
and 300 men made up the convoy; one of the officers was a young armored corps Lieutenant Colonel named Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The Lincoln National Highway had been dreamed up in 1913 by a group of auto and tire manufacturers; Henry Joy, head of Packard Motors, Henry Ostermann, who became chief of The Lincoln Highway
Association, and Frank Seiberling, head of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company were among the leaders of the Good Roads Movement. It would be the first transcontinental highway, stretching from
New York City to San Francisco. Raising money, lobbying state governments, and cajoling the US Congress for funds and pledging much of their own finances, this group of transportation tycoons
saw that many sections of the road had been worked on by 1919.
However, it was a transcontinental highway in name only. East of the Mississippi many stretches of the National Lincoln Highway were paved with either concrete or asphalt, with road markers,
way-side rests, and commercial activities along the route. The further west of the Mississippi the highway traveled, the less of a modern road it became. In Western Nebraska, the "modern road"
consisted of two tire tracks through sandy hills. In Nevada, the road was nearly impassable by anything with wheels, and the passage up through the Sierra Nevada relied on old wagon trails and,
at times, glorified goat paths. The convoy would test how well the heavy vehicles could make it to the west coast.
A sense of realism was added by operating the convoy under wartime conditions. In the words of the Expeditionary Adjutant Officer it was assumed..."that railroad facilities, bridges, tunnels, etc.
had been damaged or destroyed by agents of an Asiatic enemy. The expedition was assumed to be marching through enemy country and therefore had to be self-sustaining throughout"....
The Lincoln Highway presented a roadway "damaged or destroyed" over much of its length. Besides plowing through mud holes and continually getting stuck in sand, vehicles fell through 100
bridges which could not stand the strain and often had to be rebuilt or repaired by Army Engineers as the convoy was underway. Over 230 road accidents, such as vehicles sinking in quicksand or
mud, running off the road or over embankments, or overturning, were recorded.
Sleep was limited to about five and one-half hours per day. According to one report, much hardship was experienced due to the excessive amount of strenuous work, lack of shelter, ration
difficulties, lack of bathing facilities, and at times the scarcity of even drinking water. The Ordnance Observer reported that during the early weeks discipline among the enlisted men
was "conspicuous by its absence." Eisenhower was to state in his own report to the Chief of the Motor Transportation Corps that "This lack of discipline was largely due to inexperienced, and
poor type of officers. It resulted in excessive speeding of trucks; unauthorized halts; unseemly conduct, and poor handling of trucks in convoy." Adding to the frustrations of the trip was the
fact that although all drivers had claimed to be experienced, Ike suspected that they had never handled anything more advanced than a Model T: "Most colored the air with expressions in starting
and stopping that indicated a longer association with teams of horses than internal combustion engines."
The convoy set a world record pace for the time, traveling a total continuous distance of 3,251 miles, from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco, in 62 days, only five days behind schedule.
Average speed was 6 mph hour with drivers having to stop frequently to overcome obstacles. Early automobiles were good only on improved roadways so a tractor was included in the convoy to pull cars
out of mud on much of the rougher stretches. The average distance per day was a little over 58 miles, with some days seeing only 8 miles of progress.
The convoy was overall a great success. Written reports now part of the Eisenhower Library archival holdings show that much valuable information about the performance of various makes and sizes
of trucks, types of tires, and repair equipment was gained through the expedition. Harvey Firestone's pneumatic tires proved to wear much better and give a smoother ride than the solid rubber tires
on many of the vehicles. The public relations aspect of the trip was a success, too. Passing through about 350 communities in eleven states plus the District of Columbia, the convoy was witnessed
by approximately 3,250,000 people. Local publicity brought the convoy to the attention of an estimated additional 33,000,000 people across the country. Several hundred Army recruits were obtained
as a direct result of the convoy. One report notes that "all along the route, great interest in the Good Roads Movement was aroused ... and it was reported that several states had voted favorably
on large issues of road bonds."
Eisenhower's experiences and learning on the convoy would lead to great decisions which affected the country far beyond a successful convoy across America. He was convinced that the Army needed
to be mechanized and helped support the development and testing of vehicles which helped win World War II. As a conquering general, he witnessed first-hand the autobahns of Germany. As President,
he promoted the need for a transcontinental federal highway system based on those autobahns and his knowledge gained from the original convoy. Nearly all but forgotten today, the Military
Transport Corps 1919 Transcontinental Highway more than delivered on its objectives; it helped shaped the future of US military transportation as well as providing the impetus for our national
interstate highway system.
For information from the US Army Daily logs, use these links to download:
Eisenhower Presidential Library 1919 Convoy manuscripts
Eisenhower Presidential Library
