Transcript Wig Wag PowerPoint

Battlefield
Communication
during the
Civil war
Origin of the U.S. Signal Corps
Wig Wag System
The origins of the U.S. Signal Corps can be
traced back to Albert Myer, an army doctor,
who invented a method of communication
using line of sight to send coded messages
across battlefields.
Developed in 1856, prior to the Civil War, it
was called flag telegraphy.
During its use in the Civil War it became
known as wig wag because of the movement
of the flags.
Major Albert Myer
BACKGROUND:
wig wag:
(noun) the act or process of sending
messages by the movements of two flags or the
In 1854,
Myers
became
assistant
surgeon
in the Army and was
like waved
according
to a an
code.
(Can also be
used
as a verb.)
Random
House Unabridged
Dictionary Indians. Inspired by the sight of
west where
federal
troops
were fighting
sent
Indian smoke signals and hand communications, he developed a “wig-wag”
communications system that used flags by day and lanterns and torches by
night. He was campaigning for the Army to adapt his system when the Civil War
began.
On June 21st, 1860, Congress approved the creation of the United
States Signal Corps with Albert Myer as the first signal officer with
the rank of Major. However, the bill passed by Congress didn’t
provide any personnel to work for Myer.
It wouldn’t be until March 3rd,
1863 that the United States Signal
Corps received a formal
organizational structure. Abraham
Lincoln signed a bill which
included the position of chief
signal officer with the rank of
colonel, a lieutenant colonel, two
majors, a captain for each corps or
military department, and as many
lieutenants, not to exceed eight,
per corps or department as the
president deemed necessary. Each
officer was provided one
sergeant and six privates.
Candidates for the Signal Corps had to be able to
READ
WRITE
_______________
and _______________.
Union Code Book
They were also required to
pass a series of exams.
Confederate soldiers who were selected
for the Signal Corps were paid an extra
40 cents per day in their pay.
Visibility was very important! Signalmen used:
Scaffolds
and towers
Treesin their
and Mountains
quest to be seen.
Steeples
Rooftops
~ FREDERICKSBURG ~
THE COURTHOUSE
STEEPLE
INCalhoun
THE CENTER
Former house
of John C.
at
Signal
tower
at
Jacksonville
CONTAINED
SIGNALMEN
the mouthFEDERAL
of the Savannah
River.
Lookout Mountain in
Cumberland Mountains
Signal Station on
the Mississippi
Communication in battle was
necessary for success!
Two reasons communication was necessary were
to
MOVE
WARN
________________
and _________________
the troops.
Lutheran Seminary
Cobb’s Hill Signal Tower
used during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Cobb Hill, Virginia, 1864
The method of flag telegraphy, or wig wag, was first used in combat by the
Confederacy. A former Myer trainee, Lt. E.P. Alexander, sent flag signals at
the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) to warn the South’s General Beauregard of
a Union flanking movement.
Bull Run Battlefield
Union forces
successfully used flag
signals in September
1862 when General
Burnside was alerted to
an attack by Stonewall
Jackson’s cavalry at the
Battle of Antietam in
Maryland.
Union signal station at Antietam
Two months later, the
Union victory at
Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania was
directly influenced by
signalmen who scaled
the strategic heights of
Little Round Top to warn
that it was undefended.
Union Communications from Little Round Top
during the Battle of Gettysburg
Round Top Mountain Signal Station
Round Top Mountain Signal
Station
July 2,
1863
Capt. Hall: July 2, 1863, 11.55 A.M.
General Butterfield:
Saw a column of the enemy's infantry
The rebels are in force, and our skirmishers give way.
west
Round
Topmiles
moveOne
intomile
woods
onofridge,
three
Signal station the woods are full of them.
west of the town, near the Millerstown
Jerome
road. Wagon teams, parked in open
field beyond the ridge, moved to the
rear behind woods. See wagons moving
up and down on the Chambersburg
pike, at Spangler's. Think the enemy
occupies the range of hills three miles
west of the town in considerable force.
Norton, Taylor
The technique of wig wag is a two
element system in which a flag waived
to the left or the right represents a “1”
or a “2”.
Combinations of “1’s” and “2’s”
represent specific letters, much like dots
and dashes represent letters in Morse
A third motion of the flag to the code.
Example:
signalman’s front represents a
A = 11
3 = end of word
“3” which provides
punctuation between words
B = 1221
and sentences.
C = 212
33 = end of sentence
Click here to view demo
FLAG TRAINING LESSON- Two Element
Flash Demo
D = 111
E = 21
F = 1112
333 = end of message
Standard Union
Signal Kit
Flags –usually cotton or linen; 2, 4, or 6 feet square. (White flags were usually used since they
showed up best against most backgrounds.)
Poles - 4 x Hickory poles, 4-ft long and jointed like a fishing rod.
Torch - Copper cylinder with reservoir for fuel and a wick.
Canteen and Service Can - for carrying tourch and lantern fuel in 1/2 and 5 gallon amounts.
Case and haversack - for storage.
Funnel, pliers, wormer and shears - for filling and trimming torches.
And finally the kit case - to house it all.
Union and Confederate used essentially the same
wig wag system. Interception of messages by the
enemy was a constant concern.
Both sides began using Cipher Disks to
encrypt their messages.
Once, Confederate signal operators intercepted a
message that read, “Send me a copy of Rebel
Code immediately, if you have one in your
possession.” The Confederates quickly changed
their codes.
To encrypt the message, a signal disk made of
two disks of brass or cardboard was used. One
contained the alphabet, the other numeral
combinations. By rotating the disk and changing
the alignment of the numbers and letters, the
codes could be easily changed.
Side Note:
Telescopes and field glasses
were an essential part of a
signal party's equipment.
Union officers were
accountable for their
equipment and were under
strict orders not to let any fall
into enemy hands.
The final
By the
transmission
end of the war
of the
thewartime
US Signal
signal
Corps
corps was from
the roof
numbered
of armysome
headquarters
300 officers
(theand
extant
2,500
Winder
men. Building in
Washington, D.C.) to a single station of the once proud Army
of the Potomac, across the river: "Sic transit gloria mundi,"
Who
"thus
werepasses
"the ablest,
the glory
coolest,
of theand
world."
most daring men in the
Army"? This was the term applied by George Ward Nichols, in his
in his Story of the Great March. He was describing the men of the
signal corps, probably the least known and least appreciated body of
men in the Civil War. (David Winfred Gaddy)