Fort Monroe Telegrams, 1862 February.

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Fort Monroe Telegrams, 1862 February.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751396257

This collection consists of two telegrams from Fort Monroe in February 1862. The telegrams offer a unique look into Union operations in southeastern Virginia in early 1862 before the famous Battle of Hampton Roads. The first telegram, 34 lines, was most likely from General John Wool, commanding officer at Fort Monroe at the time, to General George McClellan, commander-in-chief of Union forces. McClellan had sent Wool a message on February 21, 1862 informing Wool that the Monitor would arrive at Fort Monroe shortly and asking Wool how many troops he would need to take Norfolk and Yorktown. The 34 line telegram in this collection is most likely Wool's response to McClellan's inquiry. In the telegram, Wool stated how many troops and batteries, along with horses and harnesses, he would need for such operations. He also stated that he would need the cooperation of the Navy in taking the two cities. This telegram was most likely written sometime in the period of February 21-22 and, as it appears to be a response by Wool to McClellan, it would be an outgoing telegram. The second telegram, a 7 line message written on the back of the first telegram, was also composed in February 1862 and relates to a planned prisoner exchange between General Wool and Confederate General Benjamin Huger. Wool informed Huger on February 13, 1862 that he had been authorized to confer with Confederates to formulate a plan for the exchanges. On February 20, Huger informed Wool that General Howell Cobb, brigade commander in the Department of the Peninsula, had been designated to meet with Wool to discuss the prisoner exchange. This telegram relays the same information as Huger's February 20 message to Wool. The telegram was also most likely written sometime in the period of February 21-22 and appears to be outgoing as well. The heading "Burmah" at the beginning of the second telegram is a line designation code telling the telegraph operator how many lines would be in the decoded message. This particular code word was used by Military Telegraph Corps operators in 1862 and appears in several different coded messages included in the Official Record. While the word "Andes" in message does not appear in known code lists of the two Federal cipher codes used by telegraph operators in 1862, it does appear in a private code used by William H. Heiss of the American Telegraph Company and it refers to General Wool.

2 telegrams

The Mariners' Museum Library

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SNAC Resource ID: 8126633

The Mariners' Museum Library

Related Entities

There are 7 Entities related to this resource.

McClellan, George B. (George Brinton), 1826-1885

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fs0m24 (person)

George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th Governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), and later left the Army to work on railroads until the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Early in the conflict, McClellan was appointed to the rank of major general and played an important role i...

Cobb, Howell, 1815-1868

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mb1024 (person)

Howell Cobb (September 7, 1815-October 9, 1868) was an American lawyer and diplomat. He served as congressman (1843-51; 1855-57), Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1849-51), governor of Georgia (1851-53), and secretary of the treasury (1857-60). Following Georgia's secession from the Union in 1861, he served as president of the Provisional Confederate Congress (1861-62) and a major general of the Confederate army. Cobb was born in Jefferson County on September 7, 1815, the eldest ...

Heiss, William H.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qv761j (person)

Wool, John Ellis, 1784-1869

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w66v85 (person)

Wool, a New York native, was a career U. S. army officer who began his service during the War of 1812, led victorious troops at the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican War, and commanded several departments in the eastern United States until he retired on August 1, 1863. From the description of Orders No. 302, May 28, 1847. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 301369825 John Ellis Wool (1784-1869) was an American military officer who fought in the...

O'Brien, John Emmet.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vb1tr6 (person)

United States. Military Telegraph Corps

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wm54b4 (corporateBody)

The U.S. Military Telegraph Corps was initiated in the first days of the Civil War. Secretary of War Simon Cameron sought the aid of Thomas A. Scott of the Pennsylvania Railroad in creating the service. He in turn enlisted the help of David Strouse of the American Telegraph Company, who extended his company's lines from Pennsylvania to the War Department in Washington, DC. Formal executive sanction of the Corps came in October 1861 from Abraham Lincoln. Congress permitted the establ...

O'Brien, Richard H., 1839-1923.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pc6n56 (person)