The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-17
HEROES OF THE WIRE.
WAR TELEGRAPHERS TO MEET IN
CONVENTION IN KANSAS CITY.
Thrilling Stories of the Battlefield Re
called-Men Who Tapped the Wires
of the Enemy and Aide1 Cur Gen
erals in Moving Their Armies.

AtOplft9ftt.J
NEW YoRK, Aug. 10" Nothing could b'
more complete than the organization of this
body of brave and Intelligent men,"
So wrote Gen. Grant of a body Of meT
who will meet in national convention dur
the sec md week of September in Kansas
City-a BODY of which Gen. John a. Logar
also said: mo part of the army discharged
its duties more intelligently aud faithfully
than the Geographic corps"
This organizatiu Is known as the United
States Military Telegraph Corps, and it i
this corps that IS TO meet. 1t VIII be II
conjunction with another organization
known as the Old Time Telegra hers So
clety. The two are distinct, but really
there is little difference between them.
MANY of the old timers were military tele-
graphers and, needless to say, all Of the
military photographers are now old timers.
That is why they meet in such unity aud In
Joint convention some 500 strong.
Not few of them are very prominent
men who Though they long ago deserted the
key and the switchboard, still ind warm
spot in their hearts for their old
line of business. The two organl-
cations have two sets of officers. The
national officers of the old timers are
Day K. Smith, president; Barney hughes
of Memphis. vice preside It, and w. j.
Dealev of New \ ork, secretary. The officers
of the United States military CORPS are w.
R. Plumb Of Chicago, president; w llllam Is.
Wilson Of Holmesburg, Pa, vice president,
and J. Z. Petit of Chicago, secretary and
treasurer
Among those who accompanied the
armies iato the field on both sides a good
many have passed over to join the unsps X
ing majority. Some of item were killed
in battle, more died in prison, 1919 were
killed, wounded or captured, and 100 more
were wounded. One of the most famous of
them all, Thomas Scott, the great railroad
magnate, died years ago. But there are
still a goodly number of the veterans who
are hale aud hearty.
The organization did a great work, did
the Military Telegraph corps. 1t began
work simultaneously with the beginning of
the war, but not in a thoroughly organized
way. 1t was not until Gen. Thomas L.
Eckert, now vice presi lent of the Western
Union Telegraph Company took charge
first of the department OF Virginia and
North Carolina, that the corps began to
play a highly important part in the conduct
of the war. Later, Gen. Eckert, under
Gen. Arson Stafer, directed also the de-
partments of West Virginia, Ohio, the
Cumberland, Missouri, Tennessee, the south
and Gulf, and then the corps was fully and
thoroughly org lnized, and had in 1t some
Of the most competent telegraphers in the
country.
Gen. Mcclellan is on record as saying that
it gave him material aid in his campaigns,
and all the other army commanders have
given like testimony. Some idea of the
work that it did even in the early stages of
the war may be obtained when it Is said
that during 1852 nearly 400 miles of wire
was built over the territory occupied by our
forces. This was taken down and put up as
the war pro gressed and as necessity dictated
but during the year more than l,00O,-
900 dispatches, large proportion of
which were of the most vital
Importance, were transmitted. As
much more line was constructed in 1862
and about 1000, 600 dispatches were sent
from that time to the close of the war,
5000 miles of line were built and ), 000 900 dis
patches forwarded. All through Sherman's
campaign, notably in his marcn to the sea,
the telegraphers played a brilliant part on
more than one occasion. reCeivi & the per-
sonal thanks of the COMMUNICATED was
a good deal-fOr Gen. Sherman has never
been over lavish in praise Of his subOrdi-
mates.
Gen. Badeau in his history SAYS that
when Gen. Grant crossed the Rapidan in his
final campaign he moved spontaneously by
valley and Butler in the peninsula, and re-
ceived responses from each before night,
while all the remaining union forces were
directed by the same agency. The i'm
portance of the position of the teegraphers
is shown hy the fact that the dispatches
that were sent over the wires
were in cipher, the keys of which
were held by nfidential operators and
were not IN be revealed even to command
ing generals. On one occasion at Norfolk
an op9r etor was offered several thousand
dollars in gold and a passage to England on
Il blockade runner if he would anticipate a
certain telegram from President Lincoln.
The offer was refused. Ii was such service
that caused Secretary Stanton to report to
President Lincoln that lin diligence, fidel-
ity and important aid the Telegraph corps
has been unsurpassed by any branch of the
service
Many of the military telegraphers and
those who we're old-time operators, and
who will be present at the coming meeting
at Kansas City, either in person or sympa-
thy, have long since deserted the operators
to win both fame and fortune in other pur-
suits. Among these may be mentioned
Andrew Carnegie, who says to this day that
he owes most of his success to what he
learned as a telegraph operator. Another
old timer is ex-Gov. Cornell, aud another
veteran who has won for himself position
such as it has been given to but few men to
attain is Wizard Thomas A. Edison. A
younger man than any of these but one,
who started out as a telegrapher, is George
A. KEENAN,, the Russian traveller.
The present president of the corps, w. R.
Plum. is no longer an operator. He is a
prominent lawyer in Chicago and author of
a History of the Military Telegraph" Its
vice president, William B. Wilson, is a bust
ness man in Holmesburg, Pa Barney
Hughes, the president of the Old Time Tele-
graph Society, was a military o orator with
The confederates. He is now railroad
agent at Memphis. Z. Rosewater. who
is leading officer among the military
operators, drifted into the newspaper bust
ness, as many telegraphers do, and is now
owner of the Omaha Bee. L. c. Weir, an
other bright light, is superintendent OF the
Adams Express office at Cincinnati. J. II
Emenck. another, is in business in New
York City. And so it goes 1t may be said
however, that wherever the operators of
long ago have gone into another bushes
they have succeeded.
But not a few of the veterans of tele
graphy have continued in their original
business. Gen. Eckert has won hiea fame
in his business, being now vice president of
that great orga ization, the Western Unlor
Company. William B. Sommerville was
in good many campaigns, serving undei
Grant, S erman and Others, and was with
Mcpherson when he was killed. He is now
superintendent of the Western Union Com
panv. Walter b. Phillips i.
an old-timer, and when he was
an operator be was considered on,
of the fastest that ever sat before the tele.
graph instrument. He has a medal which