Dated November 3, 1919, this is Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s report on the Transcontinental Motor Convoy. Setting out from Washington, DC, on July 7, 1919, the Convoy was a test by the U.S. War Department to see if the country’s roads could handle long-distance movements of mechanized army units. Eisenhower’s experience during the expedition would later play a role in his support of the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 while President.

Eisenhower’s report and other gripping eyewitness acounts from U.S. History are part of the Eyewitness exhibit–travelling to museums nationwide through 2008.

More about the Transcontinental Motor Convoy in Eyewitness…

Today’s Document from the National Archives