Wigwag (flag signals)
Wigwag was used extensively by both sides in the American Civil War, where it was an essential adjunct to electrical telegraphy, and continued to see use in both America and Europe until the end of the century.
The wigwag system consisted of a signalman waving a single large flag or other display device in different motions sequentially.
The first motion was initiated by bringing the device downward on the signalman's right side and then quickly returning it to its upright position.
Modern large flags designed to be hand held might be made of lighter silk or nylon and are more resistant to moisture retention.
Motions are easier to distinguish than positions at great distances, thus giving wigwag a range advantage.
These were used to fix the flag to a four-section staff, each section four feet long and fitted with ferrules for joining.
A second "foot torch" was placed on the ground before the signalman as a fixed point of reference, making it easier for the recipient to follow the lantern's movements.
[21] By the start of World War I, the range and accuracy of modern weapons had made flag signaling too dangerous to use on the front line, and more sophisticated technology was then available.
In this publication Myer used the Bain code as the basis for communication with a deaf person by tapping a hand or cheek.
It was in Texas that he developed the idea of the wigwag flag or torch code for military use, building on his previous work with the deaf.
[25] In 1856, while stationed at Fort Duncan, Texas, Myer wrote to Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War, proposing his signaling system.
He was supported by Joseph Gilbert Totten the Army Chief of Engineers but failed to get a hearing due to lack of detail in his proposal.
Myer conducted these tests starting in April, initially at Fort Monroe, Virginia, and later in New York and Washington.
[26] Myer, with Floyd's support, proposed that a new post of signal officer to the Army staff should be created, with him filling it.
In February 1860, Myer got a hearing before the Senate Committee on Military Affairs under the chairmanship of Jefferson Davis which supported the introduction of the system.
[27] Myer submitted a patent application in 1860 claiming the rights to all signaling systems based on motions (of which wigwag is an example) as opposed to positions (of which flag semaphore is an example).
This was impractical for a large scale war and Myer now pressed for Canby's idea of a dedicated signal corps.
[29] Wigwag was used extensively by Civil War Signal Corps troops on both sides,[30] and was an essential supplement to the electrical telegraph.
[33] The signalmen on this occasion fulfilled an important function by reporting a Union attempt to turn the Confederate flank.
[34] Myer had originally promoted the idea as a lightweight mobile system that could be carried by a single man[35] – a common task for signalmen was to act as forward observers reporting artillery fall of shot.
Alexander, in his memoirs, referred to the Little Round Top station as "that wretched little signal station" because he was forced to make roundabout movements of his troops and artillery to avoid being observed (at this time, 1863, Alexander was no longer connected with the Signal Corps, but was in command of the artillery at the Battle of Gettysburg[42]).
During that action one of the Union defenders, Captain Davis E. Castle, continued to signal with a bedsheet after the flagman had retreated with the flags.
[43] The 125 ft height of the Cobb's Hill tower gave it such a good view of Confederate movements that they assigned a gun battery specifically to destroy it.
[50] The Civil War was the high point of the use of wigwag, but there were some other campaigns that included flag signalmen, mainly against Native Americans.
Signal parties accompanied general Patrick E. Connor on the Powder River Expedition of 1865 in Wyoming and Montana.
[56] The campaign was a punitive expedition against the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho[57] in retaliation for raiding and disrupting travel on the Bozeman Trail.
Sensibly, the Signal Corps as the tactical wing should have had full access to electrical telegraph technology, but Stager attempted to prevent this.
The Rogers alphabet system slowed down the speed of transmission, and the Beardslee generator was only powerful enough for short distances.
These problems resulted in occasions when the Signal Corps had to turn over its lines to the Military Telegraph with their superior equipment.
Inconsistently, American Morse code was mandated for Army electrical telegraph lines, but not for radio telegraphy.
