Primarily a land war?

[wausaubob]

If one looks at the US Civil War in the context of what had already been seen in the US/Mexican war, and the Crimean War, its difficult see how the non industrialized Confederacy can defeat the industrialized US.
As I have stated elsewhere, the Confederacy won enough land battles to win the war. While they were winning those tactical contests, the Confederacy's strategic situation continued to get worse. That's how the US won and the Confederacy lost. The war ended in complete victory for the side that achieved naval dominance because that belligerent's armies were better supplied at lower cost than were those of the Confederates.

 

[Library Lady]

You know I'm going to mention books.

I'll confess to being a fan of Professor McPherson, so War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865. I believe it is currently on Hoopla as an audiobook. If your library has this digital service, then all you need is your library card to listen for free.

BOOK REVIEW - War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865 | Naval Historical Foundation

Not a work of revisionism, but rather a mature and sensible synthesis of 150 years of writing about what McPherson calls “the asymmetrical war on the waters.” It’s a noteworthy achievement.

navyhistory.org

War at Sea in the Ironclad Age by Richard Hill

@USS ALASKA already posted a thread on this awhile back. Responses include even more books.

War at Sea in the Ironclad Age | Naval War - At Sea & Along Inland Waterways

Been reading ‘War at Sea in the Ironclad Age’ by Richard Hill. https://www.amazon.com/dp/030435273X/?tag=civilwartalkc-20 The author writes that the only success for the ram as a weapon of war during the Ironclad Age is the Austrian Ferdinand Max against the Italian Re d’Italia at the 1866...

civilwartalk.com

 

[Rhea Cole]

It was also an aerial war as well even though the Union Army Balloon Corps was only used for aerial reconnaissance purposes from October 1861 until the summer of 1863 when the Corps was disbanded following Thaddeus Lowe's resignation. The use of balloons as an air-war mechanism was first recorded in France by the French Aerostatic Corps at the Battle of Fleurus in 1794 during the War of the First Coalition that was the world's first balloon unit, primarily for reconnaissance

In the same spirit, the Signal Corps stations of observation performed both an aerial surveillance & operation real-time reporting function.

During the Civil War, Pilot Knob was 8, 9 or 10 miles from the Rutherford County Courthouse in Murfreesboro. Maybe hills had wheels back then?

One of my granddaughters told me that Pilot Knob is the highest point between there & someplace in New Mexico. It isn't obvious in this photo, but the treeless slopes of the Knob are unique in a 360 degree tree covered horizon.

On the summit was a monstrous tree. Sixty feet up planks nailed to the trunk was a lost boys style treehouse. A palisade surrounded the leveled off hilltop. That was Fort Transit station, the southeastern corner of Rosecrans' 40 mile on a side fortress complex.

The 365 degree view from up there in a cold, clear winter sky is unlimited. You can see the landing lights of aircraft at Nashville International. Smoke from cooking fires or dust raised by cavalry or other infantry anywhere within hundreds of square miles.

Day or night observations could be in the hands of the duty officer at the courthouse station & forwarded to A of the Cumberland HQ in a matter of minutes.

Remarkably, during ideal moonless winter nights, turpentine torches signaled 41 miles directly to Ft Negley station in Nashville.

It is remarkable how many knowledgeable students of the Western Theater have any conception of the contribution of the A of the Cumberland's "aerial" elements.

 

[wausaubob]

In the same spirit, the Signal Corps stations of observation performed both an aerial surveillance & operation real-time reporting function.

View attachment 493390
During the Civil War, Pilot Knob was 8, 9 or 10 miles from the Rutherford County Courthouse in Murfreesboro. Maybe hills had wheels back then?

One of my granddaughters told me that Pilot Knob is the highest point between there & someplace in New Mexico. It isn't obvious in this photo, but the treeless slopes of the Knob are unique in a 360 degree tree covered horizon.

On the summit was a monstrous tree. Sixty feet up planks nailed to the trunk was a lost boys style treehouse. A palisade surrounded the leveled off hilltop. That was Fort Transit station, the southeastern corner of Rosecrans' 40 mile on a side fortress complex.

The 365 degree view from up there in a cold, clear winter sky is unlimited. You can see the landing lights of aircraft at Nashville International. Smoke from cooking fires or dust raided by cavalry or other infantry anywhere within hundreds of square miles.

Day or night observations could be in the hands of the duty officer at the courthouse station & forwarded to A of the Cumberland HQ in a matter of minutes.

Remarkably, during ideal moonless winter nights, turpentine torches signaled 41 miles directly to Ft Negley station in Nashville.

It is remarkable how many knowledgeable students of the Western Theater have any conception of the contribution of the A of the Cumberland's "aerial" elements.

For some purposes the flag and torch signals were effective even without confidentiality. Messages such as General Grant has arrived.
Chattanooga is now occupied by the US. The steamboats are/or are not ready. Messages that reported events at the front that did not convey any information that the Confederates could observe on their own did not need secrecy.

 

[Rhea Cole]

For some purposes the flag and torch signals were effective even without confidentiality. Messages such as General Grant has arrived.
Chattanooga is now occupied by the US. The steamboats are/or are not ready. Messages that reported events at the front that did not convey any information that the Confederates could observe on their own did not need secrecy.

This is an example of the code disks that the U.S. Signal Corps used routinely. Because the letter " R" is adjacent to the word endings it was the indicator.

Today from 8:00 to 12:00 "R" was set on "1." At 12:00 "R" became "1-1-2-2" until 4:00, etc. it was a simple system that when coupled with code words was all but impossible to crack.

There were different wheels that scrambled the meaningless numbers.

The most common signal was "A-C". When sending that routine signal the General Services Code would be used. There was a signal that indicated if the message was coded or in plain language that spelled words out.

From here things get way too complex for this venue.

 

[wausaubob]

View attachment 493431
This is an example of the code disks that the U.S. Signal Corps used routinely. Because the letter " R" is adjacent to the word endings it was the indicator.

Today from 8:00 to 12:00 "R" was set on "1." At 12:00 "R" became "1-1-2-2" until 4:00, etc. it was a simple system that when coupled with code words was all but impossible to crack.

There were different wheels that scrambled the meaningless numbers.

The most common signal was "A-C". When sending that routine signal the General Services Code would be used. There was a signal that indicated if the message was coded or in plain language that spelled words out.

From here things get way too complex for this venue.

That's a logical first signal: ciphered or unciphered?

 

[wausaubob]

That's a logical first signal: ciphered or unciphered?

The trick was not to put any operational plans in the signal system or even on the telegraph line.

 

[Rhea Cole]

That's a logical first signal: ciphered or unciphered?

There was a preamble to signals. You can imagine, who is it from, who is it to, etc. The encryption being used [encryption & code were synomous] & if the message was in plain language [spelled out] using the abbreviation dictionary or in code. A great deal of traffic was repeated on without opening the message.

On the second floor of the Rutherford Co Courthouse connections to mounted couriers, Repeaters & Telegraph connected to headquarters a few blocks away & all parts all the way to Washington.

Everybody knew that the other side was watching. When a code had been compromised, routine messages were mixed with deceptive, sometimes deliberately comic, signals.

A lot of traffic was of the "Lt Jones is coming to Fort Transit." " Lt Jones has arrived." That could mean what it literally says or that a supply train has been dispatched.

Both sides actively hunted signal teams. On the first day of Gettysburg Lee sent couriers with copies of the current Union code book. He included very pointed instructions to not alert the Yankee signalists. Lee knew that they were very good at reading his signals.

So, to specifically address the question, were some messages transmitted in plain language without use of the wheel or code words? I suppose so. However, Grant would have been "A-F-G". Arrived was "O-D-G". Chattanooga "N-V-L". Most likely those letter clusters would have been scrambled on the code wheel instead of using the General Services Code.

If you like, I can make this exponentially more complex.

 

[Rhea Cole]

The trick was not put any operational plans in the signal system or even on the telegraph line.

The code used by the Military Telegraph Service was unbreakable at that time. The CSA never cracked stacks of intercepted messages.

You can read the entire archive online from the Huntington Library in California. If you haven't done this yet… well… it will be…

Civil War Signals website is a cornacopia produced by historian / living historian / practitioners. Some of these people have been my mentors.

 

[Lubliner]

If one looks at the US Civil War in the context of what had already been seen in the US/Mexican war, and the Crimean War, its difficult see how the non industrialized Confederacy can defeat the industrialized US.

I would say it would occur by the will and vote of the people. Economically speaking, the stocks and bonds being sold up north for maturity value in the future became a good item for the industrialization. The confederacy went bankrupt not only here in the south but strung out by purchases over seas. These were all too risky and full of losses, but letters of marque continued. Up north the people rallied behind the flag, and there was an in house political war occurring. Newspaper publishers were being put in prison for speaking against the government, the fidelity of the union had to be kept strong, and money made it strong. That is why there were so many smuggling operations going on, why so many foreign investments with no hope of recovery were being made. The people decided the outcome of this war, and Lincoln would not allow the political crisis within the states and the government to rule his hand. That was the war effort. Without one head to the power and without the people's backing the confederacy could possibly have won.
Lubliner.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

I would say it would occur by the will and vote of the people.

Didn't Lincoln purportedly say, 'the ballot is stronger than the bullet' - suggesting that Lincoln realized his 'achilles' heel' in waging war was always the voting public?

Thought the Confederacy originally intended to fight a 'defensive war'. If it could have held out long enough (with the huge disparity in resources between the sections), then the Northern public's will to continue the violence might have been reversed.

 

[Old Soldier]

The code used by the Military Telegraph Service was unbreakable at that time. The CSA never cracked stacks of intercepted messages.

You can read the entire archive online from the Huntington Library in California. If you haven't done this yet… well… it will be…

Civil War Signals website is a cornacopia produced by historian / living historian / practitioners. Some of these people have been my mentors.

You have to tap a line to intercept a telegraph message and most telegraph stations used were well behind the lines, and cut on the Rebel side to prevent tapping. Any tapping on your side of the line has to cross your lines to each the enemy.
That wheel shows the 'wigwag code' for signalling with flags.

Wigwag (flag signals) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Very interesting.

The secret code for telegraph became the Morse Code.

 

[wausaubob]

Didn't Lincoln purportedly say, 'the ballot is stronger than the bullet' - suggesting that Lincoln realized his 'achilles' heel' in waging war was always the voting public?

Thought the Confederacy originally intended to fight a 'defensive war'. If it could have held out long enough (with the huge disparity in resources between the sections), then the Northern public's will to continue the violence might have been reversed.

What was left in the Confederacy by June 1862 was hardly a viable nation. The US was going to surge ahead no matter what, just as happened in the real world.
The industrial might of the US was undamaged. Sooner or later a more ruthless and more efficient nationalist party was going to take over in the US. What Prussia achieved in Germany, the US was going to achieve in America.

 

[wausaubob]

You have to tap a line to intercept a telegraph message and most telegraph stations used were well behind the lines, and cut on the Rebel side to prevent tapping. Any tapping on your side of the line has to cross your lines to each the enemy.
That wheel shows the 'wigwag code' for signalling with flags.

Wigwag (flag signals) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Very interesting.

The secret code for telegraph became the Morse Code.

Too many spies in the US. It was impossible to know who was a mole waiting for critical intelligence.

 

[wausaubob]

In short order bulkheads would have added to the US ironclads. The US was already making rapid progress in hooking and clearing mines. The French were progressing toward breach loading naval guns. That would have made the cruisers and ironclads even more powerful. The English were working very hard on iron hulled ships, and the cost steel was going to fall. The Confederacy was probably lucky to be fighting in the 1860s. Even 8 years later the mismatch between the belligerents at sea was going to be even greater.
500,000 tons per year. Broken down into heavy cruisers with screw propellers that could be a few hundred warships.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

What was left in the Confederacy by June 1862 was hardly a viable nation. The US was going to surge ahead no matter what, just as happened in the real world.

That's an interesting date proffered of 'by June 1862', the Confederacy was hardly a viable nation. (Many proponents of the 'high water mark' of the Confederacy would advocate for viability continuing until around the middle of 1863).

It seems like the Civil War saw the emergence of an early form of the 'military-industrial complex' in the North. Combined with strong and resolute military and political leadership, backed up by being generally perceived (especially internationally) as maintaining the high moral ground, it was a winning formula for the North with its greater resources.

As awful as it may sound, thought the Civil War needed to happen to resolve the deep-seated sectional differences in order for the U.S. to surge ahead industrially in the postwar period.

 

[Rhea Cole]

That's an interesting date proffered of 'by June 1862', the Confederacy was hardly a viable nation. (Many proponents of the 'high water mark' of the Confederacy would advocate for viability continuing until around the middle of 1863).

It seems like the Civil War saw the emergence of an early form of the 'military-industrial complex' in the North. Combined with strong and resolute military and political leadership, backed up by being generally perceived (especially internationally) as maintaining the high moral ground, it was a winning formula for the North with its greater resources.

As awful as it may sound, thought the Civil War needed to happen to resolve the deep-seated sectional differences in order for the U.S. to surge ahead industrially in the postwar period.

It is interesting that your last paragraph could be summed up as, "…a house divided upon itself cannot stand…" You are in good company.

 

[Old Soldier]

It seems like the Civil War saw the emergence of an early form of the 'military-industrial complex' in the North. Combined with strong and resolute military and political leadership, backed up by being generally perceived (especially internationally) as maintaining the high moral ground, it was a winning formula for the North with its greater resources.

The 'industrial complex' took a very long time to produce everything that was wanted and by the time it did, it was all over and they were back to normal. Many companies when bust because the orders were cancelled, including a number in Britain. There were many arms orders, particularly for more complicated breech-loading or repeater arms, that were not fullfilled in time or in quantity and most were dispatched to the peripheral areas of action since their ammunition was not standard.

Even Colt's could not keep up. Yes, most had established the 'production line', but most arms were not 100% interchangable so they still required speciallist fitters and the method of production remained unchanged. The 'standard' state weapons factories did manage to fullfill their orders, but the private companies did not. The days of 'mass production', were still a long way off and very few of the patented arms were produced by anyone but the patent-holding company.

Many non-standard arms, domestic and foreign, were sold off within the year after the end of the war which is why so many ended up in the hands of those heading West.

 

[Rhea Cole]

You have to tap a line to intercept a telegraph message and most telegraph stations used were well behind the lines, and cut on the Rebel side to prevent tapping. Any tapping on your side of the line has to cross your lines to each the enemy.
That wheel shows the 'wigwag code' for signalling with flags.

Wigwag (flag signals) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Very interesting.

The secret code for telegraph became the Morse Code.

Morse code, invented 30 years before the Civil War, is a binary system of X & O was the basis of telegraphic communication… & how this iPhone I am using works as well.

The single flag / torch signal system used by both sides was invented by a military surgeon during his medical training. It was a very practical signing technique for deaf persons.

The beauty of Albert Myer's system was its simplicity. A great granddaughter can easily teach it to first grade boys.

The flag / torch system was as diagrammed above. The vertical "3" movement was for spacing / punctuation.

Myer's system was codified into the "General Services Code" used by the U.S. Military until 1913. It was this system, not Morse that was used for military communications.

Messages were written using abbreviations that any texting child will recognize. The official dictionary of abbreviations is lying next to the telegraph key.

The code system used on the U.S. Military Telegraph System was the granddaddy of modern coding. It was both simple to encode & to break. I can testify that small children delight in using it. It was, at that time, unbreakable without the key. No less a personage than Porter Alexander attested to that.

An intercept party disguised as wood choppers intercepted all of the telegraphic messages between Grant's HQ at City Point & Washington. They were delivered to Signal Service HQ in Richmond. They even advertised in the paper hoping to find some way to break them. They never did.

This is an authentic CSA code wheel. It produces the kind of substitution code that you may have used in grade school. Compare that to a Union wheel.

This wheel turns the alphabet into a meaningless binary symbol that was changed throughout the day.

During the Atlanta Campaign Capt Cole & Lt Floot of the Signal corps were a code breaking duo. The A of TN signalists habitually did maintain rigorous signal security.

From their station of observation, Cole & Floot captured "contrabands." The intercepts were cracked & Sherman read them while eating supper at his HQ at Big Shanty, e.g.

When the A of TN codes were changed, the contrabands were still collected. Cole & Floot would take only a few hours to crack the new code which would then be distributed through out the Union network.

It was a contraband saying, "Why has the wagon for Gen Polk not arrived?" that told Sherman that Gen Polk had been killed.

Obviously, this is hardly the venue for explaining CW codes / cyphers (synonyms at that time) & how they were used.


Warning: The CW cyphers led to Morse code quote above is from an incorrect Wikipedia entry that has been repeated many times. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Note: For excellent, detailed information the Civil War Signals webpage is unbeatable. One of the contributors, a former army signalist, was the mentor who helped begin the Signal Corps program at Stones River.

The most original of original sources is the Thomas T. Eckert collection at the Huntington Library in California. Major Eckert commanded the Washington military telegraph office during the war. Until 2009, it was believed that, following official policy, the logs had been destroyed. After the Huntington gained possession, there was a crowd funded digital conversion of the entire collection.

Online you can read Dana's personal log that was eyes only for Stanton & Lincoln. You can ignore the endless speculative twaddle about what Grant was saying by reading his raw messages. You can also read what was being reported to Grant.

The Ekert collection also includes the code books used to encode & crack messages.

 

[Lubliner]

Thought the Confederacy originally intended to fight a 'defensive war'

During the original formation of the seceded states there had been a strong back-channel conversation among Governors and they made it clear the attempt to turn Baltimore and take control there of Maryland was foremost in their hearts. From there the belief was by gaining control of Maryland and the Washington Capital the war would be won. This had fallen through soon after Virginia seceded, due to Ellsworth and the Potomac Fleet that invested Fort Monroe. It was a part of the Baltimore riots taking place on the first movement of Union troops and Butler's revenge that quelled the rebellion in Maryland.
Lubliner.