The Telegraph Goes to War: The Diary of David Homer Bates, Lincoln's Telegraph Operator edited by Donald Markle. 239 pp., hc, dj, illus., index.
The Telegraph Goes To War
edited by Donald E. Markle
The American Civil War is often called the first modern war. The use of the telegraph by both the Union and the Confederacy stands as an excellent example of the employment of new technology in the prosecution of the war. Prior to the outbreak of the war in 1861, the United States government was totally dependent upon commercial circuits to handle all governmental communications. Army installations beyond the reach of these circuits were virtually isolated from timely direction or support.
When the war started, the Union government almost immediately grasped the importance of the telegraph and created the United States Military Telegraph Corps (USMTC) that functioned in direct support of the Union forces. Blessed with the capability of manufacturing the necessary wire and other components, the Union was able to string wire as required to provide communications to the troops as they moved throughout the countryside. The Confederacy on the other had had virtually no capability to create wire and was therefore largely dependent on commercial circuitry (much of which represented the southern routes of Northern companies) for its communications.
To handle the multitude of circuits in operation adequately, the Union government established a Telegraph Office in the War Department building adjacent to the White House. This office provided what was then considered rapid communications to and from the various armiesña function that had previously never been accomplished in a tactical military environment anywhere in the world. It was a dramatic first and a new capability that did not go unnoticed by the foreign military observers of the American Civil War.
The Telegraph Office was manned by USMTC operators, one of whom was a young man from Steubenville, Ohio, David Homer Bates. This young man was maintained a meticulous diary of the day-by-day happenings in that office (a common practice for telegraph operators). Although Bates was not well educated, the grammar in the diary is very clear and concise as well as correct. Also due to his telegraphic trainingñwhich included a requirement that all messages transcribed be readable and that legible handwriting be usedñthe handwriting in the diary is exceptionally clear. Among his entries can be found some valuable historical information such as the time of receipt of messages, reactions to events, creations of codes, activity levels on the lines, etc.ñall a part of his daily routine. By reading the entries in chronological order, the reader can grasp a comprehensive picture of the role of the military telegraph in the war.
The Bates diary is held by the Library of Congress, having been purchased as part of the Alfred Whital Stern collection in 1962. Mr. Stern had previously purchased the diary through Mr. Alfred Neuman, owner of the Lincoln Bookshop, Chicago, Illinois. The seller of the diary was Mr. Charles T. White, the local editor of a newspaper in Hancock, New York. It is not known how or when Mr. White acquired the diary.
David Homer Bates probably kept a series of diaries throughout the war period, but all that remains in existence today covers the period from November 13, 1863, to early June of 1865. Interestingly when Bates wrote his 1907 book, Lincoln in the Telegraph Office, relating his wartime experiences, he included only diary entries recorded between these specific dates.
The present work contains Bates's previously unpublished diary and provides context with related material from his book and other sources. David Homer Bates was indeed in a unique position to observe and report on the birth of the telegraph into a military environment and its value to the Union cause.