Transcontinental Motor Convoy

U.S. Army military convoy in western Nebraska during its 1919 trek on the Lincoln Highway across the U. S. from Washington DC to San Francisco.

The 2009 transcontinental motor convoy will retrace the route of the first major motorized expedition across the United States. Traveling from coast to coast in 1919, the original convoy set out to examine the feasibility of rapidly moving troops and equipment across the country as well as showcasing the military's use of some of the latest motorized technology. Following the, at the time, newly created Lincoln Highway, the convoy set a world record traveling 3,251 miles in only 62 days at an average speed of six miles per hour. Although the speed seems slow compared to today’s modern vehicles, this trip planted the seeds of what would become our modern interstate highway system.

Follow the Convoy's Route