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Union Army Signal Corps
"Keystone Signals"
Lieutenant Samuel R. Foster
(724) 676-5117
The use of the flags depended on the distance and the background colors such as smoke, trees and sky. To signal at night, brass torches filled with turpentine were attached to the poles. The same system of 1's and 2's and 3's were used. An additional foot torch was also required as a point of reference. In addition to the flag kit, the Signal Party was provided a pair of field glasses and a 30X telescope.A Signal Party consisted of three men: A Flagger, Caller and Scribe. The positions shown are the positions used in Flag (Aerial) Telegraphy. The sender assumes a position of attention with the flag held at the "Ready" position, as shown below.
The Signal Corps is the true eyes and ears of the military. Its' purpose is to gather information, analyze that information and send it to the people that can best use it. The Signal Corps is responsible for the communications between the various military groups, and the interception of enemy communications.An assistant surgeon Dr. Albert J. Myer, while observing the Indians signaling with their lances, when stationed at Ft. Davis, Texas, invented the concept of the system of signals. Dr. Myer, who had written his doctoral on Sign Language for the deaf, believed military units could send signals over long distances using a single flag.
The position of the flag at left indicates a "1"
The position to the right indicates a "2"
The position below indicates a "3"
A mistake is noticed by sending "121212-3" (today the flag is held in a horizontal position). To get attention, the flag is waived successively from side to side, until noticed. Transmission by either Flagger is accomplished by using 1's, 2's, and 3's. The following is one example of the codes used by flag telegraphy.a. 11 b. 1221 c. 212 d. 111 e. 21 f. 1112 g. 1122 h. 211 i. 2 j. 2211 k. 1212
l. 112 m. 2112 n. 22 o. 12 p. 2121 q. 2122 r. 122 s. 121 t. 1 u. 221 v. 2111
w. 2212 x. 1211 y. 222 z. 1111 &. 2222 ing. 1121
3= end of a word.
33= end of a sentence.
333= end of a message.
11 11 11 333= message received & understood, stand by for answer.
11 11 11 333= received & understood, cease signaling.
Because it takes a lot of time to spell out whole words, when it is very important getting the message through quickly, a form of short hand was used. Since both sides used the same system, it was easy to read each others messages. A Cipher Disk was one of the devices developed to encode and decode messages.
The numerals located on the outer rim represent the combinations to be made with a flag or torch. Each combination represents, when made, that letter on the inner disc, which coincides with it.The adjustment letter is any letter selected on the inner disc, which, placed opposite a given combination or key letter, on the outer disc, adjusts the disc of the cipher, and is the key to any communication sent in that particular cipher.The letter (R) is understood to be an adjustment letter, if no other letter is given. The Signal that indicates a cipher follows is made by three circular waves of the flag or torch from left to right. Example: The Signal "2212-3-1122-333" would indicate that "W" would be the adjustment letter.
Photos of the Keystone Signals
in Action
Photos of the Keystone Signals
in Action
Maj. Albert Myer
Signal Corp Detachment on Elk Ridge overlooking Antietam Battlefield.
Library of Congress
Union signal station at Antietam
Library of Congress
Using a combination of 1's and 2's, Myer produces an alphabet to spell words by dipping the flag left for a "1" and dipping the flag right for a "2". Dipping the flag to the front, a "3", would indicate an end of a word, "33" indicating an end of a sentence, "333" indicating the end of a message. In 1860, Dr. (Major) Myer was ordered to test the "system of signals" in New Mexico during the Navajo campaign. After the outbreak of the Rebellion, Federal Officers were reluctant to accept this new concept until the Confederate Signal Corps proved so effective at the first Battle of Bull Run.Capt. E. Porter Alexander, Confederate Chief of Signals at the first Battle of Bull Run, along with Lt. J.E.B. Stuart, had studied under Capt. Myer and practiced, while the system of signals was being developed, across the Narrows of the lower New York Bay before the war.
The Confederate Signal Corps was officially formed in April of 1862, while the Federal Signal Corps wasn't established until March of 1863.
A Signal Party carried a set of equipment that consists of seven flags of different colors and sizes. Three 6 feet square flags, one white (with a red square), one red (with a white square) and one black (with a white square). Three 4 feet flags, one white, one red and one black, and two 2 feet flags, one white and one red.
Signaling Equipment
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A BANNER HOBBY
Written by Pat Rich, for the Gazette
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Clyde-ara resident expresses love of Civil War by waving flag as part of re-enactment group
Sam Foster has always had a passion for the Civil War.
Now he expresses his love for the war by waving a flag as part of a re-enactment group.
Foster, a Clyde-area resident and Black Lick postmaster, is a five-year member of the Signal Corps, known to re-enactors as "Crowthers Company." His company is attached to the Keystone Regiment, 110th Pennsylvania Volunteers, Company A. The group is stationed in Blair County.
said "Lt." Foster during a recent interview, "I thought I'd give the Signal Corps a try because I liked how they communicate with each other."
The Signal Corps was invented by Albert Myer, a surgeon who watched Indians signal each other using a lance, a type of spear.
During the Civil War, the corps was made up of soldiers and civilian volunteers who communicated with other battalions via flags and the telegraph.
When a message came over the telegraph, it would be relayed to the flagger, via a scribe, who would call out and signal the letters to another group of soldiers. Each letter in each word involved a flag motion, either side to side, or side to front. One short dip to the front signaled the end of a word and three waves represented the end of a paragraph. Foster said that if the flagger made a mistake, he would hold the flag over his head in a horizontal position.
Flag maneuvers were called wig-wag, and the flags were red and white in the daytime and black when it snowed so that the flags didn't blend into the background.
At night, flaggers used torches to signal their troops. One torch, called a foot torch, was placed on the ground so the flagger could be seen. He then used a long torch, called a flying torch, to signal letters and words.
After relaying their message, the scribe, who had binoculars, would wait to decipher the other unit's reply.
"The South had it perfected by 1862, while it took until 1863 to have it perfected by the Union Army," Foster noted.
According to Foster, by the end of the war, approximately 300 officers and 2,500 enlisted men had been part of the corps. Between 1862 and 1865, more than 12,000 miles of telegraph wire had been erected.
Members of the Signal Corps were required to undergo infantry and artillery training and carried a weapon at all times.
Civilians usually manned the telegraphs, Foster said, and many were from Indiana County.
"The flag and telegraph units were very mobile," Foster said. "The telegraphs were kept on wagons and, as they went, they sometimes had to cut the wires and create new ones."
During re-enactments, Foster usually mans the flag while another helper mans the telegraph and acts as the scribe.
Foster said the regiment is available for presentations. Although it does not charge a fee, donations are welcome. For more information about the re-enactment group, contact Foster at (724) 676-5117.
Signal Corps officers lowering flag at their camp near Georgetown; General Albert J. Myer, in civilian dress, at right of pole
Library of Congress
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