Transcript The Telegraph and The Civil War

The Telegraph
and
The Civil War
Civil War Myers “Wigwag” system Signal Flag, National
Cryptologic Museum, Ft. Meade, Maryland
•Understanding Goal:
– Good Communication Wins Battles
•Investigative Question:
– How did the telegraph affect the outcome of
the Civil War?
Timeline
for the
Telegraph
• 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
Davis, R. (1863) The first telegraphic message from
California Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs
1853 Map of Telegraph Lines
Barr, C. (1853) Telegraph stations in the United States, the Canadas & Nova Scotia. Library of Congress: American Memory,
Map Collections
1867 Map Railroads and Telegraph
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
Some Civil War battles were fought
to control rivers and ports.
Port Royal, SC 1862
Norfolk, VA 1862
New Orleans, LA 1862
Vicksburg, MS 1863
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
Most Civil War Battles were fought to
control railroads.
•First Manassas or First
Bull Run (July 1861)
•Fredericksburg (December
1863)
•Siege of Petersburg and
the Fall of Richmond (18641865)
•Appomattox Courthouse
(April 1865)
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 depot
Library 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
Several telegraph
companies helped the
armies communicate
Telegram from Lowe to 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.
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
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. Usher
Library 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
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)
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
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
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.
Unknown (between 1860 and 1880) Bv't.-Gen. A.J. Myer Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs
The Wig Wag
system used flags
to send messages
from towers like
these.
•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
How was this an improvement?
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
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
Confederate Cipher Cylinder
Union Code Book and Confederate Cipher Cylinder, National Cryptologic Museum,
Ft. Meade, Maryland
Codes and Ciphers
•The Union’s Codes were broken less frequently.
•They were more complex
Union Code Book
Confederate Cipher Cylinder
Union Code Book and Confederate Cipher Cylinder, National Cryptologic Museum,
Ft. Meade, Maryland
Results
• How did the telegraph improve
communication?
• What differences between the North
and the South influenced
communication?
• How does communication win battles?
Unknown. (ca.1861-ca.1865 Beauregard's
Headquarters, Manassas [Stereograph]].Library of
Congress: American Memory, Civil War Treasures
from the New-York Historical Society
O’Sullivan, T. (c. 1866) McLean's House, Appomattox CourtHouse, 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