The Federal Signal Service at Antietam: Stations, Officers and Battlefield Intelligence on America's Bloodiest Day

This book restores to view a forgotten but essential arm of the Union war effort. On September 17, 1862, while the bloodiest single day in American history raged at Antietam, a network of young officers with flags and telescopes linked staff headquarters, high-ground observation posts, and forward stations close to the fighting, furnishing General George B. McClellan with near real-time intelligence on Confederate movements. Their constant signaling disproves the enduring "spectator general...