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THE SIGNAL CORPS

By A. W. GREELY
Major-General, United States Army

No other arm of the military services during the Civil War excited a tithe of the curiosity and interest, which surrounded the Signal Corps. To the onlooker, the messages of its waving flags, its winking lights and its rushing rockets were always mystic in their language, while their tenor was often fraught with thrilling import and productive of far-reaching effects.

(Slide bar to move left to right) EXPERTS OF THE UNITED STATES SIGNAL SERVICE PHOTOGRAPHED AT RED HILL IN 1861 General (then Major) Myer is distinguishable, in the center, sitting and leaning against the table, by the double row of buttons on his field-officer's coat. The group comprises Lieutenant Samuel T. Cushing, Second United States Infantry, with seventeen officers selected for signal duty from the noted Pennsylvania Reserve Corps. Most of the enlisted men were from the same volunteer organization. It is interesting to examine the field paraphernalia with which the corps was provided. Every man has a collapsible telescope, or a powerful field-glass. Leaning against the table is a bunch of staffs, to which the flags were attached. One of the signal flags is lying in front of the group, and another is extended in the breeze behind. White flags with a red center were most frequent. In the case of snow, a black flag could be used. Against a variegated background the red color was seen farther. In every important campaign and on every bloody ground, these men risked their lives at the forefront of the battle, speeding stirring orders of advance, warning of impending danger, and sullen admissions of defeat. They were on the advanced lines of Yorktown, and the saps and trenches at Charleston,Vickburg, and Port Hudson, near the battle-lines at Chickamauga and Chancellorsville, before the fort-crowned crest of Fredricksburg, amid the frightful carnage of Antietam, on Kenesaw Mountain deciding the fate of Allatoona, in Sherman's march to the sea, and with Grant's victorious army at Appomattox and Richmond. They signaled to Porter clearing the central Mississippi River, and aided Farragut when forcing the passage of Mobile Bay.

The signal system, an American device, was tested first in border warfare against hostile Navajos; afterward the quick-witted soldiers of both the Federal and Confederate armies developed portable signaling to great advantage. The invention of a non-combatant, Surgeon A. J. Myer, it met with indifferent reception and evoked hostility in its early stages. When the stern actualities of war were realized, its evolution proceeded in the federal army in face of corporation and departmental opposition, yet despite all adverse attacks it ultimately demonstrated its intrinsic merits. Denied a separate organization until the war neared its end, the corps suffered constantly from strife and dissension in Washington, its misfortunes culminating in the arbitrary removal of its first two chiefs. Thus its very existence was threatened. Nevertheless, the gallant, efficient services of its patriotic men and officers in the face of the foe were of such striking military value as to gain the confidence and win commendation of the most distinguished generals. (See: Origin of the Corps)

A QUIT EVENING, BEFORE THE DANGEROUS WORK BEGAN SIGNAL CAMP OF INSTRUCTION AT RED HILL, GEORGETOWN, 1861 Fashionable folks from Washington have come to the signal camp to look at what seems a strange new pastime of the soldiers, playing with little sticks and flags and entertaining themselves at night with fireworks. But now the shadows lengthen, and the visitors are mounting their horses and about to take their places in the waiting barouche to depart. In the foreground the signalmen can be seen lounging comfortably, feet in the air, or drowsing against the sides of their tents. Their work is done, unless practice is ordered with rockets, lights or torches after nightfall. A few months from now they will be in a place where the patronizing visitors will be loath to follow. With Confederate shells shrieking about them on the Peninsula, the men with the flags will dip and wave and dip again, conveying sure information to "Little Mac" more speedily than the swiftest courier. Who would grudge them these few moments of peaceful comfort at twilight when he learns that the ratio of killed to wounded in the Signal Corps was one hundred and fifty percent, as against the usual ratio of twenty percent in other branches if the service? Many found their fate in Confederate prisons. Sense of duty, necessity of exposure to fire, and importance of mission were conditions frequently incompatible with personal safety - and the Signal Corps paid the price. In no other corps can be found greater devotion to duty without reward.

Major Myer began work in 1861, at Georgetown, District of Columbia, with small details from the volunteers, though the corps eventually numbered about three hundred officers and twenty-five hundred men. Authorized as a separate corps by the act of Congress, approved March 8, 1863, its organization was not completed until August, 1864. The outcome was an embodiment of the army aphorism that "one campaign in Washington is worth two in the field." More than two thousand signalmen served at the front, of which only nine were commissioned in the new corps, while seventeen were appointed from civil life. As a result of degradation in rank, eleven detailed officers declined commissions or resigned after acceptance. Colonel Myer, the inventor and organizer of the service, had his commission vacated in July, 1864, and his successor, Colonel Nicodemus, was summarily dismissed six months later, the command then devolving on Colonel B. F. Fisher, who was never confirmed by the Senate. That a corps so harassed should constantly distinguish itself in the field is one of the many marvels of patriotism displayed by the American soldier.

SIGNALING FROM THE COBB'S HILL TOWER NEAR APPOMATTOX IN 1864 Signal messages were sent by means of flag, torches, or lights by combinations of separate motions. A detailed explanation can be found at Signal Methods, a "Flash Demo Page" has also been created to show the motions using the two-element code. The tower shown in this photograph, 125 feet high, was first occupied on June 14, 1864. It commanded a view of Petersburg, sections of the Petersburg and Richmond Railway, and extended reaches of the James and Appomattox Rivers. Its importance was such that the Confederates constructed a two-gun battery within a mile of it for its destruction, but it remained in use until the fall of Petersburg.

Signal messages were sent by means of flags, torches, or lights, by combinations of separate motions. The flag (or torch) was initially held upright: "one" was indicated by waving the flag to the left and returning it from the ground to the upright position; "two" by a similar motion to the right, and "three" by a wave (or dip) to the front. Where a letter was composed of several figures, the motions were made in rapid succession without any pause or delay. Letters were separated by a brief but definite pause, and words or sentences were distinguished by one or more "three's" (or dips motions) to the front. A detailed explanation can be found at Signal Methods, a "Flash Demo Page" has also been created to show the motions using the two-element code.

CONFEDERATE SIGNALMEN IN 1861 The Confederate signal service was first in the field. Beauregard's report acknowledges the aid rendered his army at Bull Run by Captain (afterwards General) E. P. Alexander, a former pupil of Major A. J. Myer. McDowell was then without signalmen, and so could not communicate regularly with Washington. While Major Myer was establishing a Federal signal training-school at Red Hill, such towers were rising along the already beleaguered Confederate coast. This one at Charleston, South Carolina, is swarming with young Confederate volunteers gazing out to sea in anticipation of the advent of the foe. They had not long to wait. During nearly four years the Union fleet locked them in their harbor. For all that time Fort Sumter and its neighbors defied the Union power.

When using Coston signals there were more than twenty combinations of colored lights, which permitted an extended system of prearranged signals. Rockets were also employed with their own prearranged system of signals. White flags with a square red center were most frequently employed, though when snow was on the ground a black flag with a white center square was utilized, and with varying backgrounds, the red flag with a white center square could be seen at greater distances than the white.

To secure secrecy all-important messages were enciphered by various means, one being by the use of a cipher disk. (See: Cryptography) These were two concentric disks, of unequal size and revolving on a central pivot, divided along their outer edges were thirty equal compartments. The inner and smaller disk contained in its compartments letters, terminations, and word-pauses, while the outer, larger disk contained groups of signal numbers to be sent. Sometimes this arrangement was changed and letters were on the outer disks and the numbers placed on the inner. By the use of prearranged keys, and through their frequent interchange, the secrecy of messages were thus enciphered and almost absolutely ensured.

GENERAL MORELL'S LOOKOUT TOWARDS THE CONFEDERATE LINES - 1861 When General McClellan was rapidly organizing his army from the mass of troops, distinguished only by regimental numerals, into brigades, divisions, and corps, in the fall and winter of 1861. General George W. Morell was placed in command of the first brigade of the Army of the Potomac and stationed at the extreme front of Minor's Hill, Virginia, just south of Washington. The city was distraught with apprehension, and the lookout, or tower, in the foreground was erected especially for the purpose of observations toward the Confederate lines, then in the direction of Manassas. At the particular moment when this picture was taken, the lookout has undoubtedly shouted some observation to General Morell, who stands with his finger pointing toward the south, the Confederate position. That the army has not yet advanced is made evident by the fact that a lady is present, dressed in the fashion of the day.

In every important campaign and on every bloody ground, the flags of the Signal Corps flaunted defiantly at the forefront, speeding stirring orders of advance, conveying warnings of impending danger, and sending sullen suggestions of defeat. They were seen on the advanced lines of Yorktown, Petersburg, and Richmond, in the saps and trenches at Charleston, Vicksburg, and Port Hudson, at the fierce battles of Chickamauga and Chancerllorsville, before the fort-crowned crest of Fredericksburg, amid the frightful carnage of Antietam, on Kenesaw Mountain deciding the fate of Allatoona, in Sherman's march to the sea, and with Grant's victorious army at Appomattox and Richmond. They spoke silently to DuPont along the dunes and sounds of the Carolinas, sent word to Porter clearing the central Mississippi River, and aided Farragut when forcing the passage of Mobile Bay.

AT YORKTOWN Skilled Union signal parties were available for the Peninsular campaign of 1862, where they rendered invaluable service to McClellan. Work strickly for the army was supplemented by placing signal officiers with the navy, and thus ensuring that cooperation so vitally essential to success. The victory of Franklin's command at West Point, after the evacuation of Yorktown, was largely due to the efficiency of the Signal Corps. Vigorously attacked by an unknown force, Franklin ordered his signal officer to call up the fleet just appearing down the river. A keen-sighted signal officer was alert on the gunboat, and in a few minutes Franklin's request that the woods be shelled was thoroughly carried out. This photograph shows the location of Union battery No. 1 on the left, in the peach orchard, at Yorktown, and the York River lies at hand, to the right of the house. A lookout on the roof of Farenholt's House, Yorktown Signal Corps Headquarters in August of 1862 ARMY AND NAVY These quarters were established near Harrison's Landing, Virginia, in July, 1862 after the "Seven Days" battles during McClellan's retreat. Colonel (then Lieutenant) Benjamin F. Fisher, of the Signal Corps, then in command, opened a local station on the famous Berkely mansion. The Signal Corps had proved indispensable to the success of McClellan in changing his base from York River to James River. When the vigorous Confederate attack at Malvern Hill threatened the rout of the army, McClellan was aboard the gunboat Galena, whose army signal officer informed him of the situation through messages flagged from the shore. Through information from the signal officers directing the fire of the fleet, he was aided in repelling the advances of the Confederates. The messages ran like this: "Fire one mile to the right. Fire low into the woods near the shore." (See: Signalling Aboard Tug Boats)

Did a non-combatant corps ever before suffer such disproportionate casualties- killed, wounded, and captured? Sense of duty, necessity of exposure to fire, and importance of mission were conditions incompatible with personal safety -and the Signal Corps paid the price. While many found their fate in Confederate prisons, the extreme danger of signal work, when conjoined with stubborn adherence to outposts of duty, is forcefully evidenced by the fact that the killed of the Signal Corps were on hundred and fifty percent of the wounded, as against the usual ratio of twenty percent.

The Confederates were the first in the field, for Beauregard's report acknowledges the aid rendered his army at Bull Run by Captain E. P. Alexander, a former pupil of Myer. McDowell was then without signalmen, and so could neither communicate regularly with Washington nor receive word of the vitally important despatch from Patterson at Harper's Ferry telling of Johnston's departure to reinforce Beauregard at Manassas, which should have obviated the battle. Major Myer was quick, however, to establish a signal training-school at Red Hill, Georgetown, District of Columbia.

OCTOBER 1862 WHERE THE CONFEDERATE INVASION OF MARYLAND WAS DISCOVERED The signal officer is on outlook duty near the Point of Rocks station, in Maryland. This station was opened and operated by First-Lieutenant John H. Fralick for purposes of observation. It completely dominated Pleasant Valley. On the twelfth of the month Fralick had detected and reported General J. E. B. Stuart's raiding cavalry crossing the Potomac on their way back from Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Confederate cavalry leader had crossed the Potomac at Williamsport on the 10th of October, ridden completely around the rear of the Army of the Potomac, and eluded the vigorous pursuit of General Pleasonton and his Union cavalry. Within twenty hours he had marched sixty-five miles and kept up his artillery. Lieutenant-Colonel Edwin R. Biles, with the Ninety-ninth Pennsylvania, opposed Stuart's crossing at Monocacy Ford, but was unable to detain him. This was one of the combinations of events, which finally cost McClellan the command of the Army of the Potomac. Lee's invasion of Maryland in 1862 would have been a complete surprise, except for the watchful vigilance of Lieutenant Miner of the Signal Corps, who occupied Sugar Loaf, the highest point in Maryland. From this lofty station were visible the more important fords of the Potomac, with their approaches on both sides of the river. Miner detected the Confederate advance-guard, then the wagon-train movements, and finally the objective points of their march. Although unprotected, he held his station to the last and was finally captured by the Southern troops.

In view of modern knowledge and practice, it seems almost incredible to note that the Secretary of War disapproved, in 1861, the recommendation made by Major Myer, signal officer of the army, for an appropriation for field-telegraph lines. While efforts to obtain, operate, and improve such lines were measurably successful on the part of the army, they were strenuously opposed by the civilian telegraph corporations so potent at the War Department.

Active protests proved unavailing and injurious. Colonel Myer's circular, in 1863, describing the systematic attempts of the civilian organization to deprive the Signal Corps of such lines "as an interference with a part of the Signal Corps' legitimate duties," caused him to be placed on waiting orders, while all field-trains were ordered to be turned over to the civilian force. It may be added that both organizations in the field cooperated with a degree of harmony and good-fellowship that was often lacking in Washington.

SIGNAL OFFICER PIERCE RECEIVING A MESSAGE FROM GENERAL McCLELLAN AT THE ELK MOUNTAIN SIGNAL STATION AFTER THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM Elk Mountain is in the South Mountain Range of the Blue Ridge; its summit here shown commanded a view of almost the entire Antietam battlefield during September 17th 1862, the bloodiest single day of the Civil War. The Elk Mountain Signal Station was operated after the battle by Lieutenants Pierce and Jerome. As the first photograph above was taken, the former officier was receiving a dispatch from General McClellan, presumably requesting further information in regard to some reported movement of General Lee. The Union loss in this terrific battle was twelve thousand five hundred, and the Confederate loss over ten thousand. The correspondent of a Richmond paper, describing his part as an eye-witness of the engagement, wrote on the succeeding day" "Their signal stations on the Blue Ridge commanded a view of every movement. We could not make a maneuver in front or rear that was not instantly revealed by keen lookouts; and as soon as the intelligence could be communicated to their batteries below, shot and shell were launched against the moving columns. It was this information, conveyed by the flags upon the mountain tops, that no doubt enabled the enemy to concentrate his force against our weakest points and counteract the effect of whatever similar movements may have been attempted by us." Captain Joseph Gloskoski, who had received commendation for bravery at Gaines' Mill sent many important messages to Burnside as a result of the telescope reconnoitering of Lieutenants N. H. Camp and C. Herzog. It was the message received from this station, "Look well to your left," which enabled Burnside to guard his left against A. P. Hill's advance from Harper's Ferry.

Skilled parties were thus available for the Peninsula campaign of 1862, where McClellan utilized them, strictly army work being supplemented by placing signal officers with the navy, and thus ensuring that cooperation vitally essential to success. (See: Signalling aboard a Tug) Not only was military information efficiently collected and distributed, but also at critical junctures, McClellan was able to control the fire-direction of both field-artillery of the army and the heavy guns of the navy.

At Yorktown, coigns of vantage were occupied in high trees and on lofty towers, whence messages were sent to and from, especially those containing information of the position and movements of the foe, which were discerned by high power telescopes- an important duty not always known or appreciated. Often their work drew the Confederate artillery and sharpshooters' fire, of unpleasant accuracy. The saving of Franklin's command at West Point, after the evacuation of Yorktown, was in large part due to the efficiency of the Signal Corps.

Valuable as was the work before Richmond, under fire, in reconnoitering and in cooperation with the Military Telegraph Service, it proved to be indispensable to the success of McCellan in changing his base from York River to James River- its importance culminating at Malvern Hill. It will be recalled that the Seven Days' Battles ended with the bloody struggle on the banks of the James, where the use of the Signal Corps enabled McClellan to transform impending defeat into successful defense. When the vigorous Confederate attack at Malvern Hill threatened the flank of the army, McClellan was aboard the United States Steamship Galena, whose army signal officer informed him of the situation through messages flagged from the army. McClellan was thus enabled not only to give general orders to the army then in action, but also to direct the fire of the fleet, which had moved up the James for cooperation, most efficiently.

SIGNAL CORPS RECONNOITERING AT FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINA From December 11 to 13, 1862, four signal stations were engaged in observing and reporting the operations of the Confederates on the south side of the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg. The flag station at headquarters kept General Burnside in constant touch with the Federal attacking force on the right, under Couch and Hooker, through their signalmen in the courthouse steeple. This is prominent in the center of the lower photograph. One station near a field hospital came under fire that killed about twenty men and wounded many others nearby. Finally the surgeons requested a suspension of flagging that the lives of the wounded might be spared. ~ FREDERICKSBURG ~ THE COURTHOUSE STEEPLE IN THE CENTER CONTAINED FEDERAL SIGNALMEN

Lee's invasion of Maryland in 1862 would have been a complete surprise, except for the watchful vigilance of an officer of the Signal Corps, Lieutenant Miner, who occupied Sugar Loaf, the highest point in Maryland. From this lofty station were visible the more important fords of the Potomac, with their approaches on both sides of the river. Miner detected the Confederate advance guard, the train movements, and noted the objective points of their march. Notifying Washington of the invasion, although unprotected he held his station to the last and was finally captured by the Southern troops. The re-occupancy of Sugar Loaf a week later enabled McClellan to establish a network of stations, whose activities contributed to the victory of South Mountain.

As Elk Mountain dominated the valley of the Antietam, it was occupied only to find that the dense woods on its summit cut off all view. However, energetic action soon cleared a vista, known to the soldiers as "McClellan's Gap," through which systematic telescopic search revealed all extended movements of the foe. The busy ax furnished materials for a rude log structure, from the summit of which messages of great importance, on which were based the general disposition of the Federal troops, were sent.

HEADQUARTERS CONFEDERATE SIGNAL CORPS AT GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA THE SIGNAL CORPS AT GETTYSBURG In the battle of Gettysburg the Confederates established their chief signal station in the Cupola of the Lutheran Seminary, which commanded an extended field of operations. From here came much of Lee's information about the battle which surged and thundered to and fro until the gigantic wave of Picket's charge was dashed to pieces against the immovable rock of Meade's defense on the third culminating day. The Union Signal Corps was equally active in gathering information and transmitting orders. Altogether, for perhaps the first time in military history, the generals-in-chief of two large armies were kept in constant communication during active operations with their corps and division commanders. It was the Union Signal Corps with its deceptive flags that enabled General Warren to hold alone the strangely neglected eminence of Little Round Top, the key to the Federal left, until troops could be sent to occupy it.

Signal Corps Officers Headquarters Army of the Potomac October, 1863 Among these officers is General (then Captain) Charles E. Davis (leaning on peach-tree), and Captain P. A. Taylor, Captain Fountain Wilson, Lieutenant A. B. Capron (afterwards Member of Congress), and Lieutenant G. J. Clarke, all members of the Signal Corps.

At Fredericksburg flag-work and telescopic reconnoitering were supplemented by the establishment of a field-telegraph line connecting army headquarters with Franklin's Grand Division on the extreme left. The flag station at headquarters kept Burnside in constant touch with the Federal attacking force on the right, under Couch and Hooker, through their signalmen in the court-house steeple. One station near a field-hospital was under fire, which killed about twenty men and wounded many others near by, until the surgeons asked suspension of flagging to save the lives of the wounded.

A most important part of the Signal Corp's duty was the interception and translation of messages interchanged between the Confederate signalmen. Perhaps the most notable of such achievements occurred in the Shenandoah Valley, in 1864. On Massanutten, or Three Top Mountain, was a signal station which kept Early in touch with Lee's army to the southeastward, near Richmond, and which the Federals had under close watch. Late in the evening of October 15th, a keen-eyed lieutenant noted that "Three-Top" was swinging his signal torch with an unwonted persistency that betokened a message of urgency. The time seemed interminable to the Union officer until the message began, which he read with suppressed excitement as follows: "To Lieutenant-General Early. Be ready to move as soon as my forces join you, and we will crush Sheridan. Longstreet, Lieutenant-General."

Sheridan was then at Fort Royal, en route to Washington. The message was handed to General Wright, in temporary command, at once, and was forwarded by him to Sheridan at midnight. The importance of this information is apparent, yet Early took the Union army completely by surprise three days later, at daybreak of October 19th, although the tide of morning defeat was turned to evening victory under the inspiration of Sheridan's matchless personality.

HEADQUARTERS OF THE UNION SIGNAL CORPS AT VICKSBURG 1864 After the surrender of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863, the Signal Corps of Grant's army under the command of Lieutenant John W. Deford, a recently exchanged prisoner of war. Its location was on the southern continuation of Cherry Street near the A. & V. railway. From the balcony of the house are hanging two red flags with square white centers, indicating the headquarters of the Signal Corps. many times before the fall were orders flashed by night by means of waving torches to commands widely separated; and in the daytime the signalmen standing drew on themselves the attention of the Confederate sharpshooters. A message begun by one signalman was often finished by another, who picked up the flag of his fallen companion.

ANTICIPATED SIGNALS LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN After Grant arrived and occupied Chattanooga, Bragg retired up the Cumberland Mountains and took up two strong positions- one upon the top of lookout Mountain, overlooking Chattanooga from the south, and the other on Missionary Ridge, a somewhat lower elevation to the east. His object was to hold the passes of the mountain against any advance upon his base at Dalton, Georgia, at which point supplies arrived from Atlanta. Grant, about the middle of November, 1863, advanced with 80,000 men for the purpose of dislodging the Confederates from these positions. At the very summit of lookout Mountain, "The Hawk's nest" of Cherokees, the Confederates had established a signal station from which every movement of the Federal Army was flashed to the Confederate headquarters on Missionary Ridge. The Federals had possessed themselves of this signal code, and could read all of Bragg's messages. Hence an attempt to surprise hooker when he advanced, on November 23rd, failed. ~ LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN ~ THE ANTICIPATED SIGNALS

Signal Tower at Jacksonville The tower at Jacksonville, Florida, over a hundred feet high, kept in communication with the signal tower at Yellow Bluff, at the mouth of the St. John's River. Note the two men with the Signal Corps flag on its summit. Just below them is an enclosure to which they could retire when the efforts of the Confederate sharpshooters became too threatening.

In the battles at Gettysburg the Confederates established their chief signal station in the Cupola of the Lutheran Seminary, which commanded an extended field of operations. The Union Signal Corps was extremely active in gathering information and transmitting orders, and for perhaps the first time in military history the commanding general of a large army was kept in communication during active operations with his corps and division commanders.

The most important Union signal station, on the second day of this titanic struggle, was at Little Round Top on the Federal left flank, which commanded a view of the country occupied by the right of Lee's army. Heavy was the price paid for flag-work at this point, where the men were exposed to the fierce shrapnel of artillery and the deadly bullet of Confederate sharpshooters in Devil's Den. On or beside this signal station, on a bare rock about ten feet square, seven men were killed or seriously wounded. With rash gallantry, captain James A. Hall held his ground, and on July 2nd, at the most critical phase of the struggle signaled to Meade's headquarters. "A heavy column of enemy's infantry, about ten thousand, is moving from opposite our extreme left toward our right."

General Warren

General Warren had hastened by Meade's order to Little Round Top to investigate. He says: "There were no troops on it [Little Round Top] and it was used as a signal station. I saw that this was the key of the whole position, and that our troops in the woods in front of it could not see the ground in front of them, so that the enemy could come upon them unawares." A shot was fired into these woods by Warren's orders. He continues: "This motion revealed to me the enemy's line of battle, already formed and far outflanking our troops. . . . The discovery was intensely thrilling and almost appalling." After narrating how he asked Meade for troops, Warren continues, "While I was still alone with the signal officer, the musket balls began to fly around us, and he was about to fold up his flags and withdraw, but remained, at my request, and kept them waving in defiance." This action saved the day for the Federals, as Warren declares.

The system around Vicksburg was such as to keep Grant fully informed of the efforts of the Confederates to disturb his communications in the rear, and also ensured the fullest cooperation between Mississippi flotilla and his army. Judicious in praise, Grant's commendation of his signal officer speaks best for the service. Messages were constantly exchanged with the fleet, the final one of the siege being flagged as follows on the morning of July 4th: "4:30 A. M. 4: 1863. Admiral Porter: The enemy has accepted in the main my terms of capitulation and will surrender the city, works and garrison at 10 A. M. . . . U. S. Grant, Major-General, Commanding"

The fleets of Farragut and Porter, while keeping the Mississippi open, carried signal officers to enable them to communicate with the army, their high mast and lofty trees enabling signals to be exchanged great distances. Doubtless the loftiest perch thus used during the war was that on the United States Steamship Richmond, one of Farragut's fleet at Port Hudson. The Richmond was completely disabled by the central Confederate batteries while attempting to run past Port Hudson, her signal officer, working, meanwhile, in the maintop. As the running of the batteries was thus found to be to too dangerous, the vessel dropped back and the signal officer suggested that he occupy the very tip of the highest mast for his working perch, which was fitted up, one hundred and sixty feet above the water. From this great height it was barely possible to signal over the highland occupied by the foe, and thus maintain uninterrupted communication and essential cooperation between the fleets of the central and lower Mississippi.

SIGNALING ORDERS FROM GENERAL MEAD'S HEADQUARTERS, JUST BEFORE THE WILDERNESS In April, 1864, General Meade's headquarters lay north of the Rapidan. The Signal Corps was kept busy transmitting the orders preliminary to the Wilderness campaign, which was to begin May 5th. The headquarters are below the brow of the hill. A most important part of the Signal Corps' duty was the interception and translation of messages interchanged between the Confederate signalmen. A veteran of Sheridan's army tells of his impression as follows: "on the evening of the 18th of October, 1864, the soldiers of Sheridan's army lay in their lines at Cedar Creek. Our attention was suddenly directed to the ridge of Massanutten, or Three Top Mountain, the slope of which covered the left wing of the army--the Eighth Corps. A lively series of signals was being flashed out from the peak, and it was evident that messages were being sent both eastward and westward of the ridge. I can recall now the feeling with which we looked up at those flashes going over our heads, knowing that they must be Confederate messages. It was only later that we learned that a keen-eyed Union officer had been able to read the message: 'To Lieutenant-General Early. Be ready to move as soon as my forces join you, and we will crush Sheridan. Longstreet, Lieutenant-General.' The sturdiness of Sheridan's veterans and the fresh spirit put into the hearts of the men bu the return of Sheridan himself from 'Winchester, twenty miles away,' a ride rendered immortal by Read's poem, proved too much at last for the pluck and persistency of Early's worn-out troops."

The most dramatic use of the Signal Corps was connected with the successful defense of Allatoona, Sherman's reserve depot in which were stored three millions of rations, practically undefended, as it was a distance in the rear of the army. Realizing the utmost importance of the railroad north of Marietta and of the supplies to Sherman, Hood threw Stewart's corps in the rear of the Union army, and French's division of about sixty-five hundred men detached to capture Allatoona. With the Confederates intervening and telegraph lines destroyed, all would have been lost but for the Signal Corps station on Kenesaw Mountain. Corse was at Rome, thirty-six miles beyond Allatoona. From Vining's Station, the message was flagged over the heads of the foe to Allatoona by way of Kenesaw, and thence telegraphed to Corse, as follows: "General Corse: Sherman directs that you move forward and join Smith's division with your entire command, using cars if to be had, and burn provisions rather than lose them. General Vandever." At the same time a message was sent to Allatoona: "Sherman is moving with force. Hold Out." And again: "Hold on. General Sherman says he is working hard for you."

Sherman was at Kenesaw all day, October 5th, having learned of the arrival of Corse that morning, and anxiously watched the progress of the battle. That afternoon came a despatch from Allatoona, sent during the engagement: "We are all right so far. General Corse is wounded." next morning Dayton, Sherman's assistant adjutant-general, asked how Corse was and he answered, "I am short a cheekbone and one ear, but am able to whip all h--l yet." That the fight was desperate is shown by Corse's losses, seven hundred and five killed and wounded, and two hundred captured, out of an effective force of about fifteen hundred.

"Crow's Nest" Signal Tower Right of Bermuda Hundred Headquarters of 14th N.Y., Heavy Artillery Near Petersburg The Peeple's Farm Signal Tower Near Petersburg The Signal Tower Near Point Of Rocks

An unusual application of signal stores was made at the siege of Knoxville, when Longstreet attacked at dawn. Sending up a signal by Roman candles to indicate the point of attack, the signal officer followed it by discharging the candles toward the advancing Confederates, which not only disconcerted some of them, but also made visible the approaching lines and made possible more accurate fire on the part of the Union artillery.

While at Missionary Ridge, the following message was flagged at a critical point: "Sherman: Thomas has carried the hill and lot in his immediate front. Now is your time to attack with vigor. Do so. Grant." Other signal work of value intervened between Missionary Ridge and Allatoona, so that the Signal Corps was placed even more to the front in the Atlanta campaign and during the march to the sea.

Colonel Benjamin F. Fisher and his Assistants at Signal Corps Headquarters, Washington Although authorized as a separate corps by the Act of Congress approved March 3, 1863, the Signal Corps did not complete its organization until August, 1864. More than two thousand signalmen served at the front, of whom only nine were commissioned in the new corps, while seventeen officers were appointed from civil life. Colonel A. J. Myer, the inventor and organizer of the service, had his commission vacated in July, 1864. On December 26th of that year Colonel Benjamin F. Fisher was placed in command of the Signal Corps, but his appointment was never confirmed by the Senate. Note the curious wording of the sign by the door: "Office of the Signal Officer of the Army," as if there were but one. That a corps so harassed should constantly distinguish itself in the field is one of the many marvels of American patriotism.

The Confederates had changed their cipher key, but Sherman's indefatigable officers ascertained the new key from intercepted messages, thus giving the general much important information.

Several stations for observation were established in high trees, some more than a hundred feet from the ground, from which were noted the movements of the various commands, of wagon trains, and railroad cars. Hood's gallant sortie from Atlanta was detected at its very start, and despite the severity of the fight, during which one flagman was killed, messages were sent throughout the battle -even over the heads of the foe.

Signaling From Fort McAllister, Georgia The End of The March to the Sea General Sherman's flag message with Hazen's soldierly answer upon their arrival at Savannah, December 13, 1864, has become historic. Sherman's message was an order for Hazen's Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps to make an assault upon the fort. Hazen's terse answer was: "I am ready and will assault at once." The fort was carried at the first rush. A flag was immediately established on the parapet. It signalled to Dahlgren's expected fleet the news that Sherman had completed the famous march to the sea with his army in excellent condition. Only a week later General Hardee evacuated Savannah with his troops.

Of importance, though devoid of danger, among the final messages on arrival at Savannah was one ordering, by flag, the immediate assault on Fort McAllister by Hazen, with the soldierly answer, "I am ready and will assault at once," and the other announcing to the expectant fleet that Sherman had completed the famous march to the sea with his army in excellent condition.

In the approaches and siege of Petersburg, the work of the Signal Corps was almost entirely telescopic reconnoitering. While an occasional high tree was used for a perch, yet the country was so heavily timbered that signal towers were necessary. There were nearly a dozen lines of communication and a hundred separate stations. The most notable towers were Cobb's Hill, one hundred and twenty-five feet; Crow's nest, one hundred and twenty-six feet, and Peebles Farm, one hundred and forty-five feet, which commanded views of Petersburg, its approaches, railways, the camps and fortifications. Cobb's Hill, on the Appomattox, was particulary irritating and caused the construction of an advance Confederate earthwork a mile distant, from which fully two hundred and fifty shot and shell were fired against the tower in a single day -with slight damage, however. Similar futile efforts were made to destroy Crow's Nest.

At General Meade's headquarters a signal party had a unique experience -fortunately not fatal though thrilling in the extreme. A signal platform was built in a tree where, from a height of seventy-five feet the Confederate right flank position could be seen far to the rear. Whenever important movements were in progress this station naturally drew a heavy fire, to prevent signal work. As the men were charged to hold fast at all hazards, descending only after two successive shots at them, they became accustomed in time to sharpshooting, but the shriek of shell was more nerve-racking. On one occasion several shots whistled harmlessly by, and then came a violent shock, which nearly dislodged platform, men, and instruments. A solid shot, partly spent, striking fairly, had buried itself in the tree half-way between the platform and the ground.

SIGNAL STATION ON THE MISSISSIPPI The Charleston Mercury reported on March 3, 1863, that the U. S. Army installed a signal station in the top of an oak tree on the banks of the Mississippi which connected to the old Custom House in Carrollton just upriver from New Orleans. Original photo from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Groves of Baton Rouge, La.

When Petersburg fell, field flag-work began again, and the first Union message from Richmond were sent from the roof of the Confederate Capitol. In the field the final order of importance flagged by the corps was as follows: "Farmville, April 7, 1865. General Meade: Order Fifth Corps to follow the Twenty-fourth at 6 A.M. up the Lynchburg road. The Second and Sixth to follow the enemy north of the river. U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-General."

It must not be inferred that all distinguished signal work was confined to the Union army, for the Confederates were first in the field, and ever after held their own. Captain (afterwards General) E. P. Alexander, a former pupil of Myer, in the Union army, was the first signal officer of an army, that of Northern Virginia. He greatly distinguished himself in the first battle of Bull Run, where he worked for several hours under fire, communicating to his commanding general the movements of opposing forces, for which he was highly commended. At a critical moment he detected a hostile advance, and saved a Confederate division from being flanked by a signal message, "Look out for your left. Your position is turned."

Alexander's assignment as chief of artillery left the corps under Captain (later Colonel) William Norris. Attached to the Adjutant-General's Department, under the act of April 19, 1862, the corps consisted of one major, ten each of captains, first and second lieutenants, and twenty sergeants, the field-force being supplemented by details from the line of the army. Signaling, telegraphy, and secret-service work were all done by the corps, which proved to be a potent factor in the efficient operations of the various armies.

It was at Island No. 10; it was active with Early in the Valley; it was with Kirby Smith in the Trans-Mississippi, and aided Sidney Johnston at Shiloh. It kept pace with wondrous "Stonewall" Jackson in the Valley, withdrew defiantly with Johnston toward Atlanta, and followed impetuous Hood in the Nashville campaign. It served ably in the trenches of beleaguered Vicksburg, and clung fast to the dismantled battlements of Fort Sumter. Jackson clamored for it until Lee gave a corps to him, Jackson saying. "The enemy's signals gave him a great advantage over me."

HOW SHERMAN WAS WELCOMED UPON HIS ARRIVAL AT THE SEA This photograph shows a party of Admiral John A. Dahlgren's signalmen on board ship receiving a message from the Georgia shore. The two flagmen are standing at attention, ready to send Dahlgren's answering message, and the officer with the telescope is prepared to read the signals from the shore. Thus Sherman's message from the parapet of Fort McAllister was read. Commander C. P. R. Rodgers and Admiral Dupont had been prompt to recognize the value of the Army Signal Corps system and to introduce it in the navy. This concert between the North's gigantic armies on shore and her powerful South Atlantic fleet was bound to crush the confederacy sooner or later. Without food for her decimated armies she could not last.

SIGNALING BY THE SEA This station was established by Lieutenant E. J. Keenan, on the roof of the mansion of a planter at the extreme northern point of Hilton Head Island, Port Royal Bay. Through this station were exchanged many messages between General W. T. Sherman and Admiral S. F. Dupont. Sherman had been forced by Savannah's stubborn resistance to prepare for siege operations against the city, and perfect cooperation between the army and navy became imperative. The signal station below was erected on the house formerly owned by John C. Calhoun, lying within sight of Fort Pulaski, at the mouth of the Savannah River. Late in December, General Hardee and his Confederate troops evacuated the city. Sherman was enabled to make president Lincoln a present of one of the last of the Southern strongholds.

STRIKING THE SIGNAL CORPS FLAG FOR THE LAST TIME ~ AUGUST 1865 SIGNAL CAMP OF INSTRUCTION ON RED HILL In this camp all Union signal parties were trained before taking the field. (see: Camp of Instruction) In the center is the signal tower, from which messages could be sent to all stations in Virginia not more than twenty miles distant. The farthest camps were reached from the Crow's nest; nearer ones from the base of the tower. Here General A. J. Myer, then civilian, appeared after the muster out of his old comrades to witness the dissolution of the corps; which owed its inception, organization, and efficiency to his inventive genius and administrative ability.

FURTHER READING:

Getting the Message Through: A Branch History of the U.S. Army Signal Corps by Rebecca Robbins Raines The Signal Corps, U.S.A. in the War of the Rebellion. ~ by J. Willard Brown Army Signal and Telegraph Service from Annals of the Army of the Cumberland- 1864 by John Fitch - Army of the Cumberland The Acting Signal Corps by Samuel T. Cushing Reminiscences of the Signal Service by Henry S. Tafft An August Morning with Farragut by John C. Kinney A.S.O. Signal Exploits of the Civil War TEC TAC No. 97 ~ 22 December 1961 William W. Clemens Letters Home Part I & Part II Cyrus Marion Roberts Civil War Diaries Video Interview with Dr. Paul Scheips