Today's U.S. Army Signal Corps began during the Civil War. Both sides had signalmen in the field early in the war, however, the Confederate Congress formally established the signal corps on May 29, 1862, under the command of Major William Norris of Reistertown, Maryland. The U.S. Congress would follow suit in March, 1863 naming Major Albert J. Myer, Chief Signal Officer. Signalmen were on detached duty from all branches of the services. Candidates, who could read and write were selected and required to pass a series of exams. If selected for the Signal Corps of the Confederacy, they would receive an extra 40 cents per day in their pay. CSA enlisted persons wore the uniform of their branch. US enlisted men wore a special sleeve insignia of crossed flags. Officers on both sides wore general staff uniforms. US signal officers also wore a special hat emblem with crossed flags and silver piping on their trousers.



Methodology

The technique of signaling with flags and torches was perfected before the war by Albert J. Myer during the Western Indian Wars. It was a two element system in which a flag, waived to the left or right of the sender, represents a "1" or a "2" respectively. Various combinations of 1s or 2s represent specific letters according to a code sheet. A third motion of the flag to the sender's front, represents a "3", which provides punctuation between words and sentences. Using a combination of 1s, 2s and 3s, messages were easily spelled out. Messages were not only sent in plain text (common English), but also encoded. Naturally, it was each sides mission to capture or break their opponents code.

Equipment

Flags came in a variety of sizes and colors, and were chosen based on which would be most visible. At night a torch replaced the flag, with a second stationary torch placed at the feet of the signalmen as a point of reference for the distant viewer. Visibility was very important and signalmen were quite creative in their quest to see and be seen. Roof tops, steeples, trees, scaffolds, towers and mountains were all used.. Assisted by telescopes, and marine glasses, the signalist had a extended range of sight of up to twenty-five miles. Because of their visibility, signalist were prime targets for sharp shooters and casualty rates were high.