The Baltimore–Washington telegraph line was the first long-distance

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

system set up to run overland in the United States.

Building of line

In March 1843, the US Congress appropriated to

Samuel Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After having established his reputation as a portrait painter, in his middle age Morse contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph ...

to lay a telegraph line between Washington, D.C. and

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, Maryland, along the right-of-way of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

. Morse originally decided to lay the wire underground, asking

Ezra Cornell Ezra Cornell (; January 11, 1807 – December 9, 1874) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder of Western Union and a co-founder of Cornell University. He also served as President of the New York Agricul ...

to lay the line using a special cable-laying plow that Cornell had developed. Wire began to be laid in Baltimore on October 21, 1843. Cornell's plow was pulled by eight mules, and cut a ditch wide and deep, laid a pipe with the wires, and reburied the pipe, in an integrated operation.Dilts, James D
The Great Road
pp. 295–96 (1993) However, the project was stopped after about of wire was laid because the line was failing. Morse learned that Cooke and Wheatstone were using poles for their lines in England and decided to follow their lead. Installation of the lines and poles from Washington to Baltimore began on April 1, 1844, using chestnut poles high spaced apart, for a total of about 700 poles. Two 16-

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

copper wires were installed; they were insulated with cotton thread, shellac, and a mixture of "beeswax, resin, linseed oil, and asphalt."Huurdeman, Anton A
''The Worldwide History of Telecommunications''
p. 61 (2003) A test of the still incomplete line occurred on May 1, 1844, when news of the Whig Party's nomination of

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seven ...

for U.S. President was sent from the party's convention in Baltimore to the Capitol Building in Washington.

Operations

Morse's line was demonstrated on May 24, 1844, from the

Old Supreme Court Chamber The Old Supreme Court Chamber is the room on the ground floor of the North Wing of the United States Capitol. From 1800 to 1806, the room was the lower half of the first United States Senate chamber, and from 1810 to 1860, the courtroom for the ...

in the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

in Washington to the

Mount Clare station The B&O Railroad Museum is a museum and historic railway station exhibiting historic railroad equipment in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) company originally opened the museum on July 4, 1953, with the name of the Balti ...

of the railroad in Baltimore, and commenced with the transmission of Morse's first message (from Washington) to

Alfred Vail Alfred Lewis Vail (September 25, 1807 – January 18, 1859) was an American machinist and inventor. Along with Samuel Morse, Vail was central in developing and commercializing American telegraphy between 1837 and 1844. Vail and Morse were the f ...

(in Baltimore), "What hath God wrought", a phrase from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

Book of Numbers The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and ...

. The phrase was suggested by Annie Ellsworth, whose husband was a supporter of Morse's, and knew Morse was religious.(27 May 1844)
The Magnetic Telegraph – its Success
''New York Daily Tribune'' (report on transmissions sent on May 25 and published in the ''Baltimore Patriot'') As U.S. Postmaster General,

Cave Johnson Cave Johnson (January 11, 1793 – November 23, 1866) was an American politician who served the state of Tennessee as a Democratic congressman in the United States House of Representatives. Johnson was the 12th United States Postmaster Ge ...

was in charge of the line. Morse was made superintendent of the line, and

and Henry Rogers the operators. The next year, Johnson reported that "the importance of he lineto the public does not consist of any probable income that can ever be derived from it," which led to the invention being returned for private development.

References

External links

Electronic Technology in the House of Representatives

History of the Telegraph

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltimore-Washington telegraph line Telegraphy

Building of line

Operations

See also

References

External links