Communication Tactics During The Pre-Civil War

At the beginning of the Civil War, domestic communication coordination was still primitive. For example, for long distance reporting, generals in the United States deployed groups of delivery men, who carried letters on horseback. These deliveries, conducted on horseback oftentimes over hundreds of miles of treacherous terrain, could take days to reach the final destination. Other early war communication tactics included the use of torches and flags to signal from one post to another. This method also had substantial weaknesses as it inaccurately relayed information amidst the smoke and fog from the battlefield. While these methods were essential and widely implemented during the pre-Civil War era, they were slow and inefficient.

At the peak of the Industrial Revolution, Samuel Morse

When the telegraph first emerged prior to the Civil War, Lincoln showed enthusiasm for learning about the new device. In 1857, the first recorded instance of Lincoln laying eyes on a telegraph key was in a hotel lobby in Pekin, Illinois, only three years before he was elected president of the United States. From the onset, Lincoln displayed curiosity and understanding. For instance, Charles Tinker, the telegraph operator who was demonstrating to him the workings of the telegraph, reported that Lincoln “asked pertinent questions showing…that he comprehended quite readily the operation of the telegraph.” Lincoln not only appreciated the inner-workings of the telegraph, he also embraced its capacity to spread his ideas. In the months leading up to his presidential nomination on February 27, 1860, after he delivered an address, the telegraph was used to broadcast the message across the nation. Given his knowledge of the power of the telegraph, Lincoln opened a telegraph office in the War Department in the White House in May of