Sec. B Pg 16 Missoulian Centennial 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps Organized at Fort in 1896
25th Infantry Bicycle Corps Organized at Fort in 1896
The 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps was organized at Ft. Missoula in July of 1896, the first organization of its kind in the Regular Army. The object of the corp was to thoroughly test the practicability of the bicycle for military purposes in mountainous country.
The corps consisted of eight men commanded by Lt. J. A. Moss. The Italians were the first to use bicycles for military purposes, employing the vehicles as early as the 1870s. France, and later Germany employed vehicles for the military.
Lt. Moss, who was later to become a general, brought Ft. Missoula into international prominence in June of 1897 when he obtained permission for the bicycle corps to make a trip to St. Louis, a distance of 1,900 miles. The corps started from Missoula June 14, 1897, and made the trip in 44 days. However, the unit was ordered to make the return trip by train.
The corps at that time consisted of 22 men, including a surgeon, a sergeant, and two corporals, one trumpeter and 16 privates, commanded by Lt. Moss, one of the white officers in command of Negro troops at the fort.