Notes on U.S. Signal Corps Telescopes, 1860-1865 David Winfred Gaddy February 2002 The first practical system of wireless military telecommunication introduced in the United States came about in the late 1850s with the invention of an army assistant surgeon, Dr./Capt. A.J. Myer. It employed a code based on the two-element Bain telegraph system, converted to left-right waves of a flag during the day or torches at night. The distance between stations (hence, the range of a link and the extent of a signal network) depended on visibility to the human eye: Field glasses and telescopes facilitated accurate 'reading' of signals at longer distances. In practice, signal officers with telescopes became a valued source of intelligence, through first-hand observation of enemy activity and, later, through observation of enemy signal stations and the acquired ability to 'break' their signal codes. Like the torch and flags, the telescope became identified with the signal service. Since the mid-1970s, interest in the role of the Signal Corps in the American Civil War (1861-1865) has drawn the attention of re-enactors, or 'interpreters,' as well as researchers, to a more detailed examination of equipment used by the Confederate (who were actually 'first in the field') and U.S. organizations. This interest, combined with that associated with Civil War collecting (especially of items identified to individuals) has greatly inflated the market, making identification all the more important. Basic documentation for U.S. is found in Brown’s history (1) and the early editions of Myer’s Manual (2), first published in a limited number of copies in 1864. But as inquiry became more detailed, available information failed to answer a number of questions having to do with the maker or source, dating, and other aspects of the optical instruments in particular. What is needed is more intensive study of the Signal Corps records and correspondence at the National Archives (Records Group 119), in the hope that definitive answers may be found there. Until such time, the following constitutes a collection of fragmentary data, some speculation, and descriptive information for reference purposes. The Signal Corps Museum at Fort Gordon, GA, currently displays a telescope identified with Myer himself. It bears the name of Beale, London, 'Day or Night,' and has a wooden barrel for the lower portion with brass above and below. It is not clear whether this is the same telescope shown in a circa October 1854 photograph of Myer preparing to go out West. It appears to be a conventional, single draw 19th Century nautical spy glass, 37” in length, extended, and 19 1/2” closed, with sliding dust cover on the eye-piece. There is no indication that the shiny brass was ever blackened. Myer was 'out West' when the war began. He was THE 'Signal Officer of the Army,' but personnel he had trained and directed had been temporary detailees - he had no formal organization. Brought promptly back East to commence training signalmen for the rapidly expanding National (Union) Army, he evidently sought commercial sources of supply for equipment needed. Initially, Myer had no budget, no office, no support staff, no supply system. In the case of telescopes he turned to the Philadelphia firm of James W. Queen (3, 4). I am speculating that the first procurement of telescopes, 'French telescopes,' (4) were Bardou products, so marked, and procured through Queen, U.S. importer. And that, at a later point, Queen began supplying the identical telescope under his own name, without obvious identification with Bardou. (This may be an unwarranted inference, that 'Bardou' predates 'Queen,' but it seems plausible and therefore is adopted until contrary evidence appears.) Based on this assumption, I am referring to Bardou-marked telescopes as Type 'A' and 'B,' and Queen- marked as 'C.' Apparently identical, they are four-draw brass telescopes of approximately 30 power magnification, with sunshade for the 2 inch diameter objective (larger) lens, sliding brass dust cover for the ocular (eyepiece), and velvet-lined leather end cups. The end cups bear a carrying strap that is threaded through two side straps (sewn and secured by small screws) on the leather-covered barrel. The tube is leather-covered, with sixteen screws in two columns of eight, to secure the leather to the barrel during heavy use, and to keep the leather wrapping intact against the pull of the supporting shoulder straps. Clearly for heavy duty, these constitute the basic field service telescope of the U.S. Signal Corps during the Civil War. They weigh approximately 3 and a half pounds. Extended, they are an impressive 3 feet,one and a half inches, compacting into 10 and a quarter inches. Over the past several months, information has been obtained to permit the recording of identifying data on examples of each: A. 'U.S. Army Signal Glass' engraved in script, Bardou logo. Perhaps the earliest of these five. [Privately owned, information from David Bock.] B1. 'U.S. Army/Signal Telescope' in script, with later additions (see below), Bardou logo. No reticle, straps, or end cups. [Privately owned, personally examined. See below.] B2. 'U.S. Army/Signal Telescope/O.C.S.O'. 36 inches, brass. No serial number, no maker mark. This is very unusual in that most optics of the Civil War period were imported and are usually marked as such. Perhaps this was held in reserve stock, unissued. Offered at auction on the Internet in January 2002 at C1. "U.S. Army Signal Telescope/Jas. W. Queen/Philad-a." Identified to 2nd Lt. George C. Round, 1863-’65. The Manassas Museum, Manassas, VA. (Dave Purschwitz.) All leather missing. Clamp/screw bracket present. C2. Marked 'U.S.A. Signal Telescope/Jas. W. Queen, Phila. Pa.' in script. Original leather end cups and carrying strap present. Cross- hairs reticle/reticule. Identified to Bvt. Capt. Oscar B. Ireland, 1863-’65. Detailed in "The Signal Cipher," Vol. 13, No. 11, November 1999. B1 above appears to have been modified subsequent to receipt/acceptance, to reflect government ownership and accountability per a 16 August 1864 'suggestion' from Myer (5). The original marking was apparently the 'G.B. / caduceus trade mark' logo, and 'U.S. Army/Signal Telescope' in script. Centered on the next line beneath are the letters 'O.C.S.O.' in a slightly different hand of engraving. This abbreviation identifies the 'Office of the Chief Signal Officer', a mark used until probably 1864 - 1865. (Earlier in the war, Myer had marked signal corps property, such as Coston signal flare 'guns,' with his initials, 'A.J.M.') In this same 'later hand' are the words 'Signal Corps/U.S. Army No. 274.' Until such time as the National Archives records are thoroughly searched for a listing of the numbered assignments, the officer to whom No. 274 was issued remains unknown. (No such list appears in the preliminary inventory of that Record Group checked in the summer of 2001.) The above five are examples of the standard wartime U.S. Army Signal Corps telescopes issued to officers. It was one of the more costly items of equipment, and officers were under instruction to conceal the eye- piece or destroy the telescope, rather than allow it to fall into enemy hands intact (2). Indeed, the telescope was so much a badge of office that the holder or bearer in a contemporary photograph can probably be identified as a signal officer. Here are Myer’s own words from page 231 of the 1874 (copyright 1868) edition of his Manual: 'The Telescope of the Signal Corps has been determined by experience as the best for general use. These telescopes are of about thirty powers. They have a focal length of twenty-six inches. The tube is cased in leather, in place of wood or metal. The draw is of four joints, bronzed black, in order that there may be neither glitter to attract the enemy, nor glare to disturb the eye of the observer. Leather caps are fitted over both eye and object glasses, and the whole is supported by a strong leather strap, long enough to pass over the shoulder, and connecting the caps and glass in such way that there are no loose parts. This glass is strong and portable. It has power sufficient for any ordinary use, and is of a size to be conveniently handled. It is habitually worn slung over the shoulder, by the signal officer, wherever he may be, in the field. 'At permanent stations, the largest and most powerful glasses, mounted upon stands, and with accurate machinery, compasses, scales, etc. may be used. 'The varieties of pocket-glasses may be used at distances of from five to ten miles. A glass known as the carbineer-glass is not larger in diameter than the finger, and may be carried in the vest pocket. (p. 231)' As indicated in the second paragraph of the quoted portion above, there was also a higher power, stand-mounted telescope, identified by the Bardou trade name, 'Telegraph Telescope'(6). No examples have been positively identified, but one extant photograph (see below) offers a possible candidate. For comparative purposes, a 'List of Prices of Signal Equipments and Signal Stores' circa 1864 gives the prices of 'Signal Telescope and Straps' as $21.50, whereas 'Telegraph Telescopes' are $65.00. (Marine glasses, with case, are listed at $23.00.) Other examples of photographs depicting Signal Corps telescopes may be cited. Several appear in the special (November-December 2001) U.S. Signal Corps issue of Military Images. A posed composite showing virtually all standard Signal Corps equipment, with an officer looking through a stand-mounted telescope, is on the back cover of Civil War Times Illustrated, for July 1975 (Herb Peck, Jr. collection). The stand is a rather ornate, lathe-turned piece of furniture impractical for mobile field use, one would think, but the telescope appears to be standard four-draw. One of the several photos of the 'Elk Ridge' signal station overlooking Sharpsburg/Antietam is in William A. Frassanito’s 1978 Antietam, page 77, showing 1st Lt. Edward C. Pierce at what appears again to be a 'standard' glass. (Also in Miller, Vol. VIII, p. 320.) No discussion would be complete without reference to the well known photograph in Vol. VIII of Miller’s Photographic History (p. 323), supposedly depicting a Signal Corps observer in the field, using a stand-mounted telescope for observation to the reader’s right. The stand is a simple tripod of perhaps three feet in height, and, again, the telescope appears to be standard. (It is, I suppose, possible that the first and last of these three do depict the higher power scope, with more powerful lenses, but there is no external evidence other than the stand. Even the 'standard' telescope of about 30x required stabilizing, and a variety of devices - brass clamp/screw for tree-mounting, improvised stands, such as a folded blanket on a stump, crossed sticks, sword hilt - can be documented. A screw-clamp appears with example C1 at the Manassas Museum. It clamped to the lower "draw" and had a heavy screw for affixing,e.g. to a tree.) The term 'signal service' (whether or not capitalized) was in occasional use during the war, even in the same document that uses the term, Signal Corps. It seems to have been a generic or broad term, perhaps to distinguish the 'service' from the various units or teams, which were also called 'signal corps' (plural). After the war the organization shrunk to so few men that 'corps' might have seemed a joke, yet this was the time when the War Department assigned to the Corps the responsibility to serve as the central source for procurement and issuance of telescopes and field glasses. For commercial firms, 'Signal,' 'U.S. Signal,' and 'Signal Telescope' seem to have been promotional or marketing labels (3, 6), as opposed to those marked 'U.S. Army' and 'U.S. Signal Corps,' denoting government property. But instruments such as field glasses, marked 'U.S. Signal Service,' are probably post-war, circa 1870s - 1880s or even later. Application of serial numbers to US telescopes dates from August 1864, last year of the war, for accountability purposes. The importance of the telescope waned until, by the end of the 19th Century, visual signaling had been overshadowed by wire and soon by wireless, radio communication, relegating flag signals to stand-by or emergency use, continuing well into the mid-20th Century. Binocular 'field' or 'marine' glasses issued to the Union Signal Corps have yet to be identified as to source, manufacturer, or marking. Brown (p. 121) notes that, on 26 April 1862, the Secretary of the Treasury directed the New York customs officer to admit, duty-free, for delivery to Beckel Bros. 'a case of marine-glasses ordered for Maj. Myer.' (This may be the same concern later identified as photographers.) ------- 1. J. Willard Brown, "The Signal Corps, U.S.A. in the War of the Rebellion" (Boston, 1896; centennial edition facsimile reprint available from the 'Signal Corps Association, 1860-1865,' Walt Mathers, 13 Beach Drive, Glen Burnie, MD 21060). Telescopes and 'marine-glasses' (field glasses, or binoculars) are described on p. 120. 2. Albert J. Myer, "A Manual of Signals: For the Use of Signal Officers in the Field" (1864), with five later, post-war editions privately published or re-printed until the government printed editions in 1877 and 1879. (See Paul J. Scheips, ed., Military Signal Communications, Vol. 1 of 2. New York: Arno Press, 1980.) 3. James W. Queen & Co., 'Priced and Illustrated Catalogue of Optical Instruments, 1862,' page 9: Item 556: 'United States Signal Telescope, with shade, leather covered body, four draws, 36 inches when drawn out, ten inches when shut up, shoulder straps, etc., complete, same as made for the Signal Corps, U.S.A. ...$16.00.' (Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia, per Walt Mathers, archives of the 'Signal Corps Association, 1860-1865.') Queen & Co. was in business as opticians at 48 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, PA from 1860-1893. (Internet notes by, and e-mail exchange with, Peter Abrahams, Walt Mathers, and David Bock.) 4. Letter of 15 May 1862 from Capt. Samuel Cushing, 2nd Infantry, Acting Signal Officer, Office of the Signal Officer, Washington, D.C., to Jas. W. Queen, 924 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Penna. 'Sir - By a letter from Major Meyer (sic) April 8th, 1862, I am informed that he has ordered from you 30 of the French Telescopes. Since that date, twelve of these glasses have been received - Can you inform me when the remainder will be forwarded. It is necessary that I should know in order to fill my requisition promptly. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant.' (National Archives, Record Group 111, Entry 1, Vol. 2 of 8, page 61. Major Myer, 'Signal Officer of the Army,' was in the field with Gen. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. Capt. Cushing was in Washington as Myer’s deputy, office supervisor, and officer in charge of property and procurement. (Mathers.)) 5. Letter of Aug. 16th 1864, from Headquarters, Military Division of the West Mississippi, New Orleans, La., to Major W.J.(L.) Nicodemus, in charge of Signal Bureau, Washington, D.C. signed 'By order' by N(Norman) Henry Camp, 1 (1st) Lt Signal Corps, U.S.A.: 'Major: I am directed by the Chief Signal Officer respectfully to suggest to you that all glasses used by the Signal Corps be hereafter numbered to present losses of Government property, of that kind, in the future. I have the honor to be, Major, Very Respectfully, Your obedient servant.' (Research by Max Zurko in National Archives, RG 111. Myer had been 'exiled' and replaced by Nicodemus in Washington, but Myer was Humphrey’s boss, Nicodemus’ senior, and originator of this 'suggestion.') 6. The French firm of Bardou was established in Paris in 1818 by D.F. Bardou and his son, P.G. (and later grandson Albert D.) trading as Bardou Fils à Paris/Bardou & Son(s). Trade mark--a caduceus with the letters 'G' and 'B' on either side above the English words, TRADE MARK in an arc. Bardou was a highly respected producer of quality lenses and optical instruments with an international reputation. In 1854 the firm 'supplied the French telegraph lines with telescopes.' Queen was Bardou’s U.S. importer and used Bardou’s lenses in later Queen-marked instruments. (Research notes by Peter Abrahams on Internet; Malcolm Addoms, e-mail.) Presumably the 'French telegraph lines' refers to the system of fixed, mechanical semaphore signal towers originated in the late 1790s by Claude Chappé (1763-1805). --------------- home page: http://home.europa.com/~telscope/binotele.htm