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NATIONAL ARCHIVES MICROFILM PUBIICATIONS
INTRODUCTION
On the 282 rolls of this microfilm publication are reproduced 583
bound volumes of telegrams sent and received mainly over the central
telegraph in the Office of the Secretary of War from 1861 to 1882.
These telegrams are a part of Record Group 107, Records of the Of-
fice of the Secretary of War.
At the outbreak of the Civil War the three large private telegraph
corporations were the American Telegraph Co., , the Western Union
Telegraph Co., and the Southwestern Telegraph Co. Collectively the
lines of these three companies connected all of the major cities and
many of the towns of the Union except in the Far West. The Ameri-
can company's lines occupied the region lying east of the Hudson
River and the entire Atlantic and Gulf seaboard area from Newfound-
land to New Orleans, with branches extending into the interior to Al-
bany, N. Y., Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pa. , and Cincinnati, Ohio.
At each of these interior points the lines met those of the Western
Union company, which generally occupied the remaining northern ter-
ritory and had its eastern terminal in New York City. In the South
and Southwest, the American met the Southwestern lines at Chatta-
nooga, Tenn., Mobile, Ala. and New Orleans, La. Louisville, Ky.
was the headquarters of the Southwestern company.
It was immediately apparent that the President and the Secretary
of War must be able to control these communication systems and to
have direct access to their lines. Accordingly, in April 1861, Secre-
tary of War Simon Cameron requested from the Pennsylvania Rail-
road the services of its vice president, Thomas A. Scott, to bring
railroad and telegraph service under proper control. The Pennsyl-
vania Railroad cooperated completely, not only making Scott avail-
able but also Andrew Carnegie, then superintendent of its Pittsburgh
Division, and a number of telegraph operators. On April 27, 1861,
the Secretary of War announced that Scott had been appointed to take
charge of the railways and telegraph lines between Washington City
and Annapolis; on May 23, he was given charge of all Government
railways and telegraph lines or those appropriated for Government
use; and on August 1 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of War.
While Scott was the general manager of the military telegraph,
his railroad duties appear to have taken most of his time. At least
until August 1861, E.S. Sanford, the president of the American Tele-
graph Co., apparently acted unofficially for him and provided the or-
ganization and means (including the advancement of funds) for
ii
NATIONAL ARCHIVES MICROFILM BI.I. ATIONS
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"ocrText": "NATIONAL ARCHIVES MICROFILM PUBIICATIONS\nINTRODUCTION\nOn the 282 rolls of this microfilm publication are reproduced 583\nbound volumes of telegrams sent and received mainly over the central\ntelegraph in the Office of the Secretary of War from 1861 to 1882.\nThese telegrams are a part of Record Group 107, Records of the Of-\nfice of the Secretary of War.\nAt the outbreak of the Civil War the three large private telegraph\ncorporations were the American Telegraph Co., , the Western Union\nTelegraph Co., and the Southwestern Telegraph Co. Collectively the\nlines of these three companies connected all of the major cities and\nmany of the towns of the Union except in the Far West. The Ameri-\ncan company's lines occupied the region lying east of the Hudson\nRiver and the entire Atlantic and Gulf seaboard area from Newfound-\nland to New Orleans, with branches extending into the interior to Al-\nbany, N. Y., Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pa. , and Cincinnati, Ohio.\nAt each of these interior points the lines met those of the Western\nUnion company, which generally occupied the remaining northern ter-\nritory and had its eastern terminal in New York City. In the South\nand Southwest, the American met the Southwestern lines at Chatta-\nnooga, Tenn., Mobile, Ala. and New Orleans, La. Louisville, Ky.\nwas the headquarters of the Southwestern company.\nIt was immediately apparent that the President and the Secretary\nof War must be able to control these communication systems and to\nhave direct access to their lines. Accordingly, in April 1861, Secre-\ntary of War Simon Cameron requested from the Pennsylvania Rail-\nroad the services of its vice president, Thomas A. Scott, to bring\nrailroad and telegraph service under proper control. The Pennsyl-\nvania Railroad cooperated completely, not only making Scott avail-\nable but also Andrew Carnegie, then superintendent of its Pittsburgh\nDivision, and a number of telegraph operators. On April 27, 1861,\nthe Secretary of War announced that Scott had been appointed to take\ncharge of the railways and telegraph lines between Washington City\nand Annapolis; on May 23, he was given charge of all Government\nrailways and telegraph lines or those appropriated for Government\nuse; and on August 1 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of War.\nWhile Scott was the general manager of the military telegraph,\nhis railroad duties appear to have taken most of his time. At least\nuntil August 1861, E.S. Sanford, the president of the American Tele-\ngraph Co., apparently acted unofficially for him and provided the or-\nganization and means (including the advancement of funds) for\nii\nNATIONAL ARCHIVES MICROFILM BI.I. ATIONS"
}