Los Angeles herald., 1891-12-16

Though the experiments in the United
States date back to the spring of 1889, it is
only within the past three months that the
seal of official army approval has been set
upon them. Lieutenant William H. c. Bow
en-, of the Fifth United States infantry,
visited Camp Watson at Mantle, Conn, on
tour of inspection of the Connecticut Ma
tional Guard, lasting from Aug Is to 22
Major Charles l.. Burdette, engineer and
signal officer of the First brigade, had
placed the signal corps of the First regi-
ment Zone officer and nine men) on wheels
Lieutenant Bowen said in his report:
"Under its commanding officer, First
Lieutenant Howard A Giddings, this
corps of wheelmen have reached a high de-
gree of proficiency. Major Burdette was
the originator of this plan. The men were
armed with the Colts repeating carbine
and with the revolver. A man mounted
ON bicycle can go many places where it
would be impossible to take horse, and it
can beat the flag in sending messages in
nearly every case. AS a fighting force it
may not be favored, but as messengers, pa
trolls and advance guards, in my opinion,
it would be invaluable. l would recon-
mend to the serious consideration of the
war department the advisability of expert
mentipg with the bicycle.
speaking of the utility of the wheel in
actual warfare, General Wolseley is re-
ported to have said: There are few coun-
tries in the world where you cannot use
cycles. I do not remember one
days march or any one fight in which we
took part where cyclists could not have
been used with the greatest possible ad-
vantage
"The principal duties of the military
cyclist are those of carrying dispatches,
skirmishing and accommodating. AS ap-
piled to the signal service, the wheels, in
my opinion, would almost double its USE
fulness."
At the camp at Mantle the several regi-
ments each performed tour of outpost
duty. a line of front a mile in length was
thrown out two miles away and then at
tackled. The wheelmen were detailed as
couriers to carry messages back to camp
Signal stations were also established, and
exact time comparisons made.
The two cyclists covered the two miles
of sandy road from front to camp in seven
minutes. The messages tagged required
seventeen minutes for transmission. 1t
was also found that the wheels stood every
portion of the weeks hard service "up hill
and down dale" without once needing re-
pair.
Another interesting evolution was the
deploying of the cyclists as moupted in
fantry. They were sent across open and
broken country without Inconvenience,
and made to rally behind the inverted
wheels for defense, and fire from this pro-
lection. This movement is known as a
"zereba." 1t was also discovered that the
bicycle could make a shorter turn than the
horse and dodge many a saber cut.
1t may be safely said that Connecticut
has been the first state to actually test the
military bicycle question by mounting a
number of its militia on wheels for a
tour of duty in camp. But Connecticut
was not the first in the field in cycling ex-
periments. That honor goes to New York,
and the experiments there have been con-
fined to the Thirteenth regiment.
The idea is said to have originated dur.
ing the Thirteenth's trip to Canada in
1880. For years the project was talked
about, but nothing definite was done.
Captain Charles H. Luscomb, himself a
famous wheelman, and Captain George G.
Cochran voiced the sentiments of the en-
thusiasts. On May 26, 1889. companies l
and c of the Thirteenth, under the com
maAd of Captain Cochran bivouacked at
Richmond Hill, L. L Seven or eight
army bicyclers headed the line of march.
The company orders, dated May 15, con-