The credit for the first telegraph is given to two teams of researchers, Sir Williak Cooke & Sir Charles Wheatstone in England, and Samuel Morse, Leonard Gale & Alfred Vail in the U.S. It worked by transmitting electrical signals through wires between telegraph stations. This was all made possible by two prime inventions from the early 1800s. Italian physicist Alessandro Volta invented the first battery in 1800. Danish physicist Hans in 1820 showed the connection between electricity and magnetism, deflecting a needle with an electric current.
In the 1830s, Cooke and Wheatstone put together the first telegraph using five magnetic needles that could be directed around panels with letters and numbers via an electric current. This invention was then used to directed traffic in Britain. In the 1840s, Samuel Morse had begun to develop a telegraph system himself in Massachusetts. (Which would be completed in 1844). He developed a single circuit telegraph (with the help of Gale and Vail) that operated by pushing down a key to complete the electrical circuit of the battery. The electrical signal was then sent across a wire to a receiver. The team then designed what would later be known as "Morse Code" as an "alphabet" for the telegraph. Operators would receive the messages on paper and then translate the code back into English. However, operators were able to understand the code from the clicking of the receiver, so the paper was eventually replaced with receivers that produced beeping sounds.
The telegraph also helped the Union in the American Civil War. Abraham Lincoln of the Union was also the first president to use the telegraph. With the telegraph, he was able to command the military officers on the battlefield, as well as deliver messages. The Confederacy was at a disadvantage, because they did not have the technological, as well as the industrial, capabilities to create a telegraph network. The Union army established the U.S. Military Telegraph Corps (U.S.M.T.C.) in 1861, which was run by Andrew Carnegie. During the next year, the U.S.M.T.C. trained 1,200 operators, put up 4,000 miles of telegraph wires, and sent over one million telegraph messages (to and from the battlefield).
The telegraph also helped the Union in the American Civil War. Abraham Lincoln of the Union was also the first president to use the telegraph. With the telegraph, he was able to command the military officers on the battlefield, as well as deliver messages. The Confederacy was at a disadvantage, because they did not have the technological, as well as the industrial, capabilities to create a telegraph network. The Union army established the U.S. Military Telegraph Corps (U.S.M.T.C.) in 1861, which was run by Andrew Carnegie. During the next year, the U.S.M.T.C. trained 1,200 operators, put up 4,000 miles of telegraph wires, and sent over one million telegraph messages (to and from the battlefield).