author
James A. (James Alfred) Moss
1872–1941
A career Army officer turned prolific military writer, he produced practical handbooks that helped generations of soldiers and officers learn the routines and realities of service. He is also remembered for organizing the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps experiments at Fort Missoula in the 1890s.
1 Audiobook
Manual of Military Training Second, Revised Edition
by James A. (James Alfred) Moss
About the author
Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, in 1872, James Alfred Moss graduated from West Point in 1894 and built a long U.S. Army career that stretched from the frontier era into the early 20th century. Along the way he became known not only as an officer, but as a gifted explainer of military life and training.
Moss wrote a shelf of widely used manuals, including Officers' Manual, Manual of Military Training, and other guides on tactics, field service, and military practice. His books were designed to be useful rather than grand, gathering regulations, customs, and practical advice into compact references for cadets, officers, and enlisted men.
He is also closely associated with the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, the Black soldiers' unit at Fort Missoula that tested bicycles for military travel under his command in the 1890s. That unusual chapter has helped keep his name alive, alongside his reputation as one of the Army's most industrious handbook writers.