The National tribune., 1899-09-28

OF the Potomac from Harrison's Landing;
Cedar Mountain and the fords OF the Rap
pahannock had decimatei the army, which
was scattered from Centerville, via Manas
sas Junction, to Gainesville, while Long
street was pouring through Thoroughfare
Gap. Then came Grovcton; but Frank
Inns, Porter's and Summers Corps Of Nc
Clellan's army had come, and the army and
Capital were safe, thanks largely to the tele
graph, which wrote emergency in every
sentence, and sent those messages upon
lightning's wings. Chantilly was fought
and safety assured, but nearly $4,000 of
contending forces were dead, wounded, or
captured. All of these messages, and
thousands more, We're ciphered, trans
mitted, and deciphered by our comrades,
who were never recreant TO their measure
less trust.
Gen. Lee turned northward, and Nc
Clellan moved also When Rockville was
reached, Halleck in Washington, Wool
in Baltimore, Gov. Curtin in Pennsylvania
were, as were also hundreds Of subordnates,
in constant telegraphic communication.
Harper's Ferry and South Mountain PIE
ceded Antietam, which was thought to be
| fraught with decisive results, possibly
turning the clocks of self-government and
civil Liberty back a century. Mcclellan
rejoiced Nation by telegraph "The enemy
is driven back into Virginia; Maryland and
Pennsylvania are now safe"
About these times the Union armies had
919 miles of telegraph lines between the
Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers. Vicks-
burg was corralcd by wires; every move
along the whole front was at once indicated
by the electric news centering at Grants
Headquarters. No commander ever had
sentinclS so efficient, unless he duplicated
Grants. The German operator was part
of the German army; the American opera
tor was a Quartermaster'S civil employc.
History records no other war where tie
armies were so widely scattered, and prior
to ours no other where they were 50 well in
formed of each others movements. We
have advanced so far that for years the
United States military operators have been
! part of the Federal army in peace times.
For the capture of Vicksburg Grant was
rewarded with a Major-General's commits
sion; his operators presented him with his
shoulder=strans. Fredericksburg and
Charlottesville were followed by Gettys-
burg. The telegraph, of course, took a
prominent part, hut not so important as
| thence on 10 tho close of the war, when every
corps, and oftimes divisions of the army
| even on the march. We're kept in constant
communication with each other and the
Generai-ni-Chief.
| What Lad originated rs doubtful e:i-
perirncst in West Virginia in McClclIan's g
camp:t ;sn-the Cheat Iountain-e in
absolute perfection fiom the RapiGan TO
AppoH:::ltoX. from Chattanooga To Atlanta,
aEout Tie Capital at Washington, along the
army front when Bragg, !, army as such was
destroyed before Nashville, and many
other places in Louisiana, Alabama, South
Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and
elsewhere.
Whether Sheridan, Stoneman, Rousseau,
Kirkpatrick, Wilson or other great riders
pushed rapidly, and even deeply, into the
cnemy's territory, or slowly, like Sherman
10 the sea and northward, Banks up Red
River or Curtis TO Little Rock, the tele-
grapher went with his instrument and
cipher key, the greatestot all secrets, except
the secrets it hid, and in proper hands only,
disclosed.
| Every campaign had its victims from our
rolls; every Confederate prison had its
representatives from our ranks; every great
battle had its telegraphers within range of
the enemy's small-arms; every great raid
was aided by one or more telegraphers;
every pressing want was heralded by our