Dispatches
On the Brink of Oblivion: A Private at the Key
William R. Plum was a sixteen-year-old telegraph operator when he joined the United States Military Telegraph during the Civil War. He later became a cipher operator on Major General George H. Thomas’s staff and authored the first comprehensive history of the USMT.
9/20/2026The Room Where Lincoln Actually Waited
The service of David Homer Bates in the War Department Telegraph Office, 1861–1866, and his association with President Abraham Lincoln.
9/4/2026Under Fire at the Key - USMT
The story of Jesse H. Bunnell, a telegraph operator who maintained communications under fire during the Civil War.
8/7/2026From Flag to Wire
How the U.S. Army Signal Corps and the United States Military Telegraph actually worked together during the Civil War, and how they sometimes competed for control of the same mission.
7/24/2026When One Became Two
When left become right and right became left...sort of.
7/18/2026Signalmen of the West
An in-depth look at Capt. Edwin I. Meeker’s Department of Kansas Signal Corps during Price’s Missouri Expedition.
7/5/2026Gettysburg
A reflective family visit to Gettysburg’s historic battlefield, from Little Round Top and the 20th Maine to Pickett’s Charge and Battery B.
5/9/2026Honey Springs 2025 Report
The 2025 Honey Springs event was a success for the OKC Signal Corps and for the public at large.
11/17/2025