The Telegraph and

The Civil War

•Understanding Goal: – Good Communication Wins Battles

•Investigative Question: – How did the telegraph affect the outcome of the Civil War?

Civil War Myers “Wigwag” system Signal Flag, National Cryptologic Museum, Ft. Meade, Maryland

• 1835 - Invented • 1838 - Publicly demonstrated and funded• 1844 - First successful message sent• 1851 - Dispatch of trains by telegraph begins • 1861 - First Transcontinental Telegraph line• 1861 - Civil War Begins

Timeline for the

Telegraph

Davis, R. (1863) The first telegraphic message from California Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs

Barr, C. (1853) Telegraph stations in the United States, the Canadas & Nova Scotia. Library of Congress: American Memory, Map Collections

1853 Map of Telegraph Lines

Lloyd, J. (1867) Lloyd's railroad, telegraph & express map of the United States and Canadas from official information. Library of Congress: American Memory, Map Collections

1867 Map Railroads and Telegraph

Port Royal, SC 1862

Norfolk, VA 1862

New Orleans, LA 1862

Vicksburg, MS 1863

Some Civil War battles were fought to control rivers and ports.

Gibson, J. (1862) Group on board the Monitor, July 9, 1862. [Stereograph] Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs

Kurtz and Allison (1889) Battle between the Monitor and Merrimac--fought March 9th 1862 at Hampton Roads, near Norfolk, Va. Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs

•First Manassas or First Bull Run (July 1861)

•Fredericksburg (December 1863)

•Siege of Petersburg and the Fall of Richmond (1864-1865)

•Appomattox Courthouse (April 1865)

Most Civil War Battles were fought to control railroads.

O’Sullivan, T. (1863) View looking South, showing how the Rebels destroyed the Orange and Alexandria Railroad when they fell back before the Army of the Potomac, under General Meade, October 13, 1863. [Stereograph] Library of Congress: American Memory, Civil War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society

Why?

Corbett, V. (1851) Map of the seat of war : showing the battles of July 18th & 21st, 1861 / published by V.P. Corbett. Library of Congress: American Memory, Map Collections.

Telegraph Lines were built Along Major Roads and Railroads

Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft: Thursday 27th Feb 1862

“A great movement of troops over the river and from here over, has taken place. The Trains from the City going East have been stopped and no one is allowed to leave the City without a passport. All Telegraph lines as well as Railroads are in the hands of the Govt. Various reports are afloat in reference to the fighting over the River but nothing seems to be known. But there is little dou[b]t that the "Army of the Potomac" is on the move after its long season of inactivity. We shall hear of stirring news soon”

Taft, H. The Washington Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft Library of Congress: American Memory, The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft

Railroads Supply the

Army

Barnard, G. (1864) Atlanta, Georgia. Federal army wagons railroad depotLibrary of Congress: Prints and Photographs, Civil War Photographs

Gardner, A. (1863) [Aquia Creek Landing, Va. View of the Federal supply depot] Library of Congress:American Memory, Selected Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865.

The Telegraph Could Tell the Generals:

• Where• When• Who• What• How

Davis, R. (1863) The Army telegraph - setting up the wire during an action The Army telegraph - the operator at work / sketched by Mr. A.R. Waud. A signal station at night / sketched Mr. Theodore R. Davis. Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs

Telegram from Lowe to Gen F. J. Porter showing "American Telegraph Company" masthead, November 30, 1861Library of Congress: Exhibitions, Top Treasures - Battles of Manassas

Several telegraph companies helped the

armies communicate

Telegram to Lowe from Gen F. J. Porter showing "American Telegraph Company" masthead, November 30, 1861Library of Congress: Exhibitions, Top Treasures - Battles of Manassas

Lincoln’s Secretary of War coordinated the use of the telegraph between these companies.

Lincoln’s Secretary of War

was Edward Stanton

The telegraph was in the Department of War Office. Lincoln spent many hours there and visited almost daily.

Unknown (between 1860 and 1870) President and Cabinet: H. Hamlin, A. Lincoln, Edw'd Bates, E.M. Stanton, W.H. Seward, M. Blair, G. Welles, W.P. Fessenden, and J.P. UsherLibrary of Congress: Prints and Photographs

Stanton put Major Thomas T. Eckert in

charge of the Military Telegraph Service

Mulhollen and Mugridge (Between 1860 and 1865) [Petersburg, Va., vicinity. Maj. Thomas T. Eckert (seated, left) and others of U.S. Military Telegraph Corps]. Library of Congress: American Memory, Selected Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865

Unknown (between 1860 and 1865) [Portrait of Brig. Gen. (as of Mar. 13, 1865) Thomas Eckert, officer of the Federal Army]. . (as of Mar. 13, 1865) Thomas Eckert, officer of the Federal Army]. Library of Congress: American Memory, Selected Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865

Thomas Eckert

Eckert used two organizations to send and receive telegraph messages.

•The Military Telegraph Service(Civilians under contract to Military)

•The Signal Corps(Part of the Army)

The Military Telegraph Service brought fast, dependable communication to the battlefront

Knox, D. (1864) [Petersburg, Va. U.S. Military Telegraph battery wagon, Army of the Potomac headquarters]Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs, Civil War Photographs

Unknown (between 1860 and 1880) Bv't.-Gen. A.J. Myer Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs

The Signal Corps

•General Albert James Myer, a doctor, invented the flag “wigwag” system of communication.

• As chief of the signal corps, he converted communication to telegraph where ever possible.

•How was this system limited?

•Why was it dangerous?

Unknown (1864) [Bermuda Hundred, Va. Photographer at Butler's signal tower Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs

The Wig Wag system used flags to send messages from towers like these.

Unknown (1864) [Wilcox's Landing, Va., vicinity of Charles City Court House. Field telegraph station]. Library of Congress: American Memory, Selected Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865

How was this an improvement?

Codes and Ciphers•Most telegrams had to be in code or cipher.•Why was this important?•What dangers did this pose?•Which of the below was better? Why?

Union Code Book and Confederate Cipher Cylinder, National Cryptologic Museum, Ft. Meade, Maryland

Confederate Cipher Cylinder

Union Code Book

Codes and Ciphers•The Union’s Codes were broken less frequently.•They were more complex

Union Code Book and Confederate Cipher Cylinder, National Cryptologic Museum, Ft. Meade, Maryland

Confederate Cipher Cylinder

Union Code Book

Results

Unknown. (ca.1861-ca.1865 Beauregard's Headquarters, Manassas [Stereograph]].Library of Congress: American Memory, Civil War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society

• How did the telegraph improve communication?• What differences between the North and the South influenced communication?• How does communication win battles?

O’Sullivan, T. (c. 1866) McLean's House, Appomattox Court-House, Virginia where the capitulation was signed between Generals Grant and Lee / negative by T.H. O'Sullivan, positive by A. Gardner. Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs