The U.S. Army Signal Corps was founded in 1861 by Major Albert J. Myer, a physician by training. He proposed that the Army use his visual communications system called "wigwag" while serving in Texas in 1856. 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Albert James Myer Albert James Myer (September 20, 1828 – August 24, 1880) was a surgeon and U.S. Army officer. ... State nickname: Lone Star State Other U.S. States Capital Austin Largest city Houston Governor Rick Perry Official languages None. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Major Myer first used his visual signaling system in New Mexico during the 1860–1861 Navajo expedition. It was tested in Civil War combat in June 1861 to direct the fire of a harbor battery at Fort Calhoun (Fort Wool) against the Confederate positions opposite Fort Monroe. On 3 March 1863 Congress authorized a regular Signal Corps for the duration of the war. Some 2900 officers and enlisted men served in the Civil War Signal Corps. State nickname: Land of Enchantment Other U.S. States Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Governor Bill Richardson Official languages English and Spanish Area 315,194 km² (5th)  - Land 314,590 km²  - Water 607 km² (0. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The term Navajo (occasionally spelled Navaho) or Diné refers to the Navajo Nation and its people, and to the Navajo language. ... The American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the northern states, popularly referred to as the U.S., the Union, the North, or the Yankees; and the seceding southern states, commonly referred to as the Confederate States of America, the CSA, the Confederacy... Fort Wool (originally named Fort Calhoun) was the companion to Fort Monroe in protecting Hampton Roads. ... National Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God our Vindicator) Official language English de facto nationwide Various European and Native American languages regionally Capital Montgomery, Alabama February 4, 1861–May 29, 1861 Richmond, Virginia May 29, 1861–April 9, 1865 Danville, Virginia April 3–April 10, 1865 Largest city New Orleans... Fort Monroe, Virginia (also known as Fortress Monroe) is a military installation located at Old Point Comfort on the tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads on the Chesapeake Bay in eastern Virginia in the United States. ... March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 1863 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ...

Myer's Civil War innovations included an unsuccessful balloon experiment at First Bull Run and an electric telegraph in the form of the Beardslee magnetoelectric telegraph machine. Even in the Civil War the wigwag system was waning in the face of the electric telegraph. First Battle of Bull Run Conflict American Civil War Date July 21, 1861 Place Fairfax County and Prince William County Result Confederate victory The First Battle of Bull Run, referred to as the First Battle of Manassas in the South, (July 21, 1861) was the first major land battle of... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ...

The electric telegraph became a Signal Corps responsibility in 1867. In 1870, the Signal Corps established a national weather service. The weather bureau became part of the Department of Argiculture in 1891, while the Corps retained responsibility for military meteorology. 1867 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ...

During the Spanish American War of 1898 and the subsequent Philippine Insurrection the Signal Corps, in addition to providing visual signaling, supplied telephone and telegraph wire lines and cable communications, employed combat photography, and renewed the use of balloons. Shortly after the war, the Signal Corps constructed the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS), the first wireless telegraph in the Western Hemisphere. The Spanish-American War took place in 1898, and resulted in the United States of America gaining control over the former colonies of Spain in the Caribbean and Pacific. ... 1898 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Philippine-American War was a war between the armed forces of the United States and the Philippines from 1899 through 1913. ... A telephone handset A touch-tone telephone dial Telephone Complex relay used in a telephone switching system. ... The Western Hemisphere contains The Americas and nearby islands. ...

On 1 August 1907 an Aeronautical Division was established within the office of the Chief Signal Officer. In 1908, the Wright brothers made test flights of the Army's first airplane built to Signal Corps' specifications. Army aviation remained within the Signal Corps until 1918 when it became the Army Air Service. August 1st is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... 1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... First flight, December 17, 1903. ... The United States Army Air Service was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. ...

During World War I, Chief Signal Officer Major General George O. Squier created a major signal laboratory at Camp Alfred Vail (Fort Monmouth). Early radiotelephones developed by the Signal Corps were introduced into the European theatre in 1918. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Major General George Owen Squier (March 21, 1863 - March 24, 1934) Born in Dryden MI. USA, he graduated from Westpoint in 1887 and received a Ph. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Colonel William Blair, director of the Signal Corps laboratories at Fort Monmouth, patented the first Army radar demonstrated in May 1937. 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Signal Corps' Project Diana, in 1946, bounced radar signals off the moon. On 18 December 1958 with Air Force assistance, the Signal Corps launched its first communications satellite, Project SCORE. 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Seal of the Air Force. ... Project SCORE (Signal Communications Orbit Relay Equipment) was the worlds first communications satellite. ...

During the Vietnam War the Signal Corps' deployed tropospheric scatter radio links that could provide many circuits between locations over 200 miles apart. The Vietnam War was fought from 1957 to 1975 between communist and Vietnamese national forces and an array of Western and pro-Western forces, most importantly the United States. ...

The Signal Corps continues to develop and test communication equipment for the battlefield.

External links

• Signal Corps museum (http://www.gordon.army.mil/ocos/museum/)

References

• Signal Corps History (http://www.gordon.army.mil/roa/history/reghist.htm)