Abraham Lincoln and the Telegraph - Essay Example

Abraham Lincoln and the Telegraph Introduction During the civil war, President Abraham Lincoln used telecommunication methods like the telegraph to end the war against the confederates. The t-mail, as it was known, was a widely used form of rapid communication during this time of civil war. For instance, in 1962, the president of the United States telegraphed a military general in the battlefield of second Manassas (Bull Run). Abraham Lincoln was exhausting the new mode of automated communications in an unparalleled manner to modernize the nature of state leadership. Since information moved at much greater rates than on foot, the military became more convoluted and facilitated the transformation of the medium industry to an entirely new level. Abraham Lincoln was the first President to use this technology in a time of crisis, putting the fate of the nation back in the hands of the nation’s leaders and allowing for instantaneous strategic modifications. This essay seeks to discuss how Abraham Lincoln's use of the telegraph revolutionized warfare by revolutionizing national leadership in the Civil War. The Telegraph and Abraham Lincoln Before telegraphy, the urgency for communication was not so much complex. Telegraphy revolutionized communication in long distances since it beat the physical exchange of letter. With this, Abraham Lincoln made great strides in his national leadership through the use of this technology. Through this, he revolutionalised national leadership and secured his status during the civil war ear in the United States. When Lincoln reached the 1861 inaugural, there were no current telegraph networks to the War Departments and even in the White House (Allen et al. 112). This situation did not prevail for long since rapid changes were implemented. Wires were mounted in the War Department and other related important installations virtually straightaway. During this time, the telegraph room in the war department was considered Abraham Lincoln’s favorite. He spent much of his time in this room strategizing the war and doing his personal time. Interestingly, the white house had no telegraph system and Lincoln made numerous visits to the war department’s cipher room. It is in this quiet seclusion that Lincoln did his introspection about the war, brewing new ideas and strategies. Here, he would have some quiet, undisturbed and undivided attention while thinking of the way forward for the war. In the telegraph room, he awaited inpor6ant news and messages from the ground. The forecasts and messages gave him the exactness of the activities of this dragging war. Clearly, this was a challenging time for Lincoln, the translation of these cyphers, the development of the new type of communication and the dynamism of the war, the loss of lives in battle and the little victories. All this he had to take in at the same time. This needs a real heart to take in without feeling overwhelmed. With this influx of information, Lincoln pondered on every little communications he received without leaving anything to chance. All these military and political messages needed to be addressed for the good of the public. The telegraph turned out to be a tool to triumph the war and the symbol that will move the country to the declaration of emancipation. Importance of the Telegraph Communication The setting up and use of telegraph communication was essential, during the American Civil War. Despite the rising interest for the new technology, during that time, the telegraph's potential was acknowledged with uncertainty and was not that much appreciated. The commencement of the work was not easy because personnel had to be assembled to attend to its use and implementation. However, Lincoln used this opportunity to tap and capitalize on electric communications. This is seen as something significant because it is used without preference and was majorly used, during in a time, where war was waged, during the Civil War (Hochfelder 231). Through telegraph communication, Lincoln was able to entirely transform and change the nature of his presidency. He used it as a device to be able to manage and uphold leadership, which soon assisted in winning the war. As soon as Lincoln became the president, there was a major turn of events throughout the war due to the use of telegraph. Most of the generals and military personnel did not understand the use of rapid communication and were slow in terms of adapting. As the war raged, on most of the people did not understand the importance of engaging rapid communication and were unaccustomed to these changes. The anxiety in Lincoln developed in its extreme every time communication was sabotaged by the events in the battlefield. The war department depended on the telegraph to get a one on one event coverage at the war front. Lincoln developed a tendency of staying at the war department’s front office where he expected to get first-hand information on the progress and advance, in the civil war. In this respect, it is apt to say that the telegraph transformed the president’s relationship with the soldiers on the ground. During the course of the entire development of the Civil War, there were no prompt exchanges of vital material between the state leaders, at the realm of government, and his militaries in the battle, except of the obstinacy Lincoln displayed in encouraging the telegraph. Normally, in warfare, the field commanders have the powers dedicated to giving immediate course of action against the enemy. Once these men on the battle front are put from the national leadership, it is common that they develop uncalled for responses, and in some aspects there is no utter respect for human lives. In most cases most heads of government stand by their troops to give both military and national leadership. In America during the war, the head of state is absent from the leadership of the events at the ground. In Lincoln’s case, he used the telegraph to tame some of his timid generals and show that his leadership maneuvers were apt to save the situation during the war. It is also through the telegraph that Lincoln kept tabs on the military generals and what they discussed among themselves on the battle ground. He gathered information about the situation of the war through the telegraph. Lincoln took command himself thus ensuring the success of the union through the use of the telegraph. As president, he would communicate direct instructions to his generals on the ground. He used his military policy and diplomacies to give directions of moving men around instantaneously from one regime to another. This led to the rise of a leader in the title of Ulysses Grant as the commanding general of the northerners. He constantly took advantage of using the electronic messages. The wire was helpful to the president because of the need to stay informed of how the battle was fairing on and frequently assert himself. General Grant also discovered this during the exchange of messages from the president to continue with the attacks persistently. One can just picture the situation of Lincoln being in command miles away by ordering the general with instant and clear-cut urgency to achieve their undertaking. Structures, Peoples and Operations of the Telegraph Service The construction of the electric telegraph operated approximately more than fifteen thousand miles of streaks that were openly used for martial purposes. This is considered a tactical factor that ensured full military operations that facilitated the victory of the northerners. The services of the telegraph had no exact personnel or specialists that had to develop the cyphers. A few of its preferred associates established contracts because it was made up of a non-combat and department that was dedicated to the Quartermaster’s Department (Woodworth 287). The contractors and workers who delivered the messages did not receive apt pay equal to the complexities of their jobs. These same workers were treated with scant considerations in this department. Apart from the military men on the ground, the civil war brought about many other casualties. These were the workers who served to deliver messages, and in the line of duty they went through drastic conditions. Most of them were stricken by diseases and others captured by the enemy. Most of the families who lost their loved ones did not receive any legal remuneration from the government. Lincoln did not consider this as some of the gruesome effects of developing the telegraph as a rapid communication tool for battle. During the civil war in America, the operators of the telegraph suffered the consequences of bad military leadership. The military leaders lacked the patience to implement the telegraph procedure well, and pressure was put on the operators to keep up with Lincoln’s anxiety to know the affairs on the ground (Figley 343). This led to some unclear relations between the military men and the operators which lead to contention and distrust. However, this distrusts and contention did not influence the union’s aim of winning the war and restoring tranquility. The palpable defects of such ill attended union made it difficult for it to adapt and adjust itself to the fluctuating imperative needs and demands of countless and autonomous armies such as were engaged in the Civil War. The organization of the telegraph system during the war was destabilized, and Lincoln focused on the notion of the end justifies the means. His sole interest was finding a way of rapidly communicating with his troops on the ground. He did not consider that the telegraph system put some of the operators on danger. Even though the work needed too much personal danger and risk, the operators of the martial telegraph were still uncompromising. They accomplished their duties with patriotism, efficiency and fidelity. Their services, however, have never been recognized and all the credit is given to Lincoln for initiating the telegraph system to triumph in the civil war. Discrepancies in Running the Telegraph Office Since the course of the war was taking too long, congress enacted some laws to increase the breath of work of the telegraph operators. Thomas Scott was appointed as the general manager of all the telegraph lines to increase efficiency of the information exchange. Andrew Carnegie, on the other hand, obtained the force to initiate a telegraph office in the war department. Even after reforming the telegraph communication system in the military it still suffered its own setbacks. Lincoln understood that enhancing the telegraph system was the only way out to triumph in the war (Lamb & Susan 29). He initiated more bureaucracies in the war department’s telegraph office. This only led to more mistrusts and constrains of the officials appointed at the office. The disagreements in the office led to misinformation to the leadership on the national level. For instance, there were cases of politics within the military and telegraphic authority. This can be evident when Sanford deliberately damaged McClellan's passionate message that was posted to Stanton at the center of the Seven Days Combat. In another similar instance, Eckert, one of the officials who withheld communication from Lincoln a message proclaiming the Federals downfall at Ball's Bluff. This was because of insubordination and predominant resentment amongst the ranks. Clearly, the bureaucracy that the government initiated in the telegraph service did not help but rather led to more disaster. In all this, however, Lincoln maintained a clear streak of bravery to triumph in the civil war. The telegraph offices included workers who majorly disagreed on the terms of service and who was more superior in the ranks. This greatly affected communication between the battlefront and national leadership. This, of course, was not what Lincoln expected by initiating the telegraph as a means of communication and developing new strategies. Conclusion During his presidency, Abraham sent approximately 1000 different telegrams. Abraham Lincoln applied this new technology in the absence of a trial or pilot project. Fortunately the system provided splendid results that recorded a new history in America. Furthermore initiating this system had its setbacks, but Lincoln kept to his faith that this was the only way the unions would triumph over the confederates. Developing the specific guideline was the first setback of this project. There were also technicalities in mobilizing its use among the military generals. The training among the operators of the service also proved to be a major setback in initiating this system in warfare. However, Lincoln’s success in the war can be attributed to initiating this new system of communication in warfare. It is through this system that there was more rapid communication between the military generals and the national leadership. This enabled and facilitated strategizing and developing ways to counter the enemies. Lincoln knew that communication was an important tenet of warfare and gave it apt priority. The Lincoln-led side won the civil war since communication between the hierarchies was necessary to develop means of achieving success in the battlefield. In the widest sense, the development of telegraph communications was virtuously for impressive tactics and strategy. The Civil War did not strain any longer since Lincoln concerted vibrant communications and opportune movements that dispensed the last blow to the downfall of the Confederacy. It is through the telegraph that Lincoln managed to transform the American national leadership. This form of communication transformed modern warfare, which shares most of the legacies of Lincoln’s ideas on warfare. The success of the union can be greatly attributed to Lincoln’s participation as the main man of war. He decided to take apt command and develop strategies which he communicated to the military generals to implement. As president, he gave directive to his forces on the ground through the telegraph. This is the main reason why he managed to wage a successful war against the confederates. Works Cited Allen, Thomas B, and Roger M. B. Allen.Mr. Lincoln's High-Tech War: How the North Used the Telegraph, Railroads, Surveillance Balloons, Ironclads, High-Powered Weapons, and More to Win the Civil War. Washington, D.C: National Geographic, 2009. Print. Figley, Rhodes. President Lincoln, Willie Kettles, and the Telegraph Machine.Lerner classroom, 2010. Print. Hochfelder, David. The Telegraph in America, 1832-1920. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012. Print. Lamb, Brian, and Susan Swain.Abraham Lincoln: Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President. New York: PublicAffairs, 2008. Print. Woodworth, Steven E. The American Civil War: A Handbook of Literature and Research. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2006. Print. Read More