- Joined
- Aug 25, 2012
We have all heard that President Lincoln spent many hours in the telegraph office. Although both the North and south used telegraphy during the Civil War, the technology saw greater use in the North than the South. According to Charles Ross in his book Trail by Fire, “The Union army, in particular, would pioneer the large-scale use of field telegraph, enabling a remote commander to micromanage tactics n various parts of a battlefield.’ Soon after the war started both sides utilized the telegraph to provide intelligence across the lines. The Confederate supporters in Maryland and Washington D. C. were particularly good at using the telegraph to send information on Union troop movements. The efforts at censorship of intelligence being sent by telegraph were primitive. The Union set up the United States Military Telegraph (USMT) and the Confederate Congress in Montgomery authorized Jefferson Davis to assume control of all telegraph line in the South very early in the war.
Both President Lincoln and President Jefferson were able to control their armies in the field in a way no president before them had been able to do. Generals were able to receive and send messages much quicker than in previous wars. There are good and bad implications of telegraphy. Both presidents had a tendency to micromanage.
It is clear that the use of telegraphy impacted the war, but the topic is not often discussed.How much an impact did the use of telegraph have?
Both President Lincoln and President Jefferson were able to control their armies in the field in a way no president before them had been able to do. Generals were able to receive and send messages much quicker than in previous wars. There are good and bad implications of telegraphy. Both presidents had a tendency to micromanage.
It is clear that the use of telegraphy impacted the war, but the topic is not often discussed.How much an impact did the use of telegraph have?