Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Telegraph

The Telegraph was invented 1844 by Samuel Morse long before the American Civil War in 1861. The Civil war took place in America from 1861-1865. It was a war between the Confederacy and Union on the perspective of slavery. The telegraph was a form of quick communication during the American Civil War. It helped direct and unify the military within the Union Army. Although the telegraph had its flaws, its usage by the north remains a significant element in impacting the Civil war’s outcome.

Understanding how the telegraph functioned is a crucial process to understanding advantages and disadvantages it had. The telegraph "worked by pushing the operator key down to complete the electric circuit of the battery. This action sent the electric signal across a wire to a receiver at the other end.” On the receiving end, an electromagnet in the register receives the messages and transcribes the information. This happens when the magnet senses an electric pulse creating an attraction between the iron

It had many shortcomings as an innovation but the most damaging to the union was wiretapping. "Intercepting a telegraph message was not a difficult task. It simply required splicing into the official like and attaching the new feed to a telegraph key. It was possible, then, not only to listen to the traffic, but also to insert bogus messages. " - tom wheeler pg 101. An example of the effect of wiretapping would be an event in 1864 where the confederate's wiretappers were able to tap into information on the shipment of 2,536 head of cattle that were being shipped to feed the Union’s soldiers. The rebels acted swiftly and seized the food supplies which they fed on for over a month. Using the telegraph was like treading on dangerous water where its hard to know whats whose listening in. However, there are many reasons why the president of the Union decided to use the telegraph knowing the threat of wire