Although the United States Army Signal Corps was not authorized as a separate branch until Congress passed legislation on March 3, 1863, the Corps rightfully points to June 21, 1860 as the traditional anniversary date of its official establishment. That was the date on which Congress authorized the appointment of a lone Signal Officer in the Army, which the War Department immediately acted upon by issuing an order naming Assisting Surgeon Albert J. Myer to the post with a rank of Major. Though a doctor and surgeon by training, Myer had spent several years developing systems of long-distance communication using flags during the day and torches or lanterns at night, and the position of Signal Officer was created to administer the systems he had created.
A little over a year later, Myers flag system was put to effective use during the First Battle of Bull Run—but not by Myer or any Soldiers serving under him. Instead, it was Confederate Captain Edward Porter Alexander who first used the “wig wag” technique created by Myer to communicate during combat operations. Positioned on a hilltop in Manassas, Porter sent a message to Colonel Nathan Ethans warning him of a flanking move by the Union forces; when Confederate Co-Commanders P.G.T. Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston received the same message, they reinforced Evans with enough troops to stem the Union advance and turn the tide of battle.
Unfortunately for Myer, the same battle marked one of the few failures in his career. Given the go-ahead to deploy an observation balloon from which an observer could relay information regarding Confederate troop movements, Myer brought the balloon, its aeronauts, and 20 Soldiers toward the battle lines in the early morning hours of the day of the battle. But the forest and foliage was so dense that Myer was forced to inflate the balloon and have the Soldiers, inexperienced with ballooning, try to maneuver with ropes. Eventually the balloon became wedged in the branches of the trees, tearing it so much it could no longer be used.
The irony of the events at Bull Run is that Alexander, who later went on to forge a legendary career as a Confederate artillerist, had served as an assistant to Myer while he developed his flag system.
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