War Communication Before Modern Technology
Today our military has access to many ways to observe the enemy. From unmanned drones that fly reconnaissance missions to satellite imagery and infrared sensors to detect enemy presence, modern technology permits battles to be plotted by GPS and tracked via computer in ways that earlier military units could not even imagine.
On a recent visit to Gettysburg Battlefield, the licensed battlefield guide reminded our group of the Civil War novel, Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. My interest was caught immediately by the opening chapter, “The Spy,” which focuses on a lone rider, a former actor and non-military man, who scouted the movement of Union troops for Lieutenant General James Longstreet, Robert E. Lee’s second in command.
The thought of this “hired gun” being an important part of the Confederate war cabinet sent me on a mission to find out more about how the military observed the enemy and communicated their movements during the Civil War.
