Civil War Signaling - Signal Mountain TN
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 35° 07.172 W 085° 22.012
16S E 648815 N 3887519
With flags and torches, signalmen passed the word —When Confederate forces laid siege to Chattanooga in late September 1863, they cut off telegraph lines leading into the city.
Waymark Code: WM1371E
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 09/30/2020
Views: 3
Civil War Signaling— With flags and torches, signalmen passed the word —When Confederate forces laid siege to Chattanooga in late September 1863, they cut off telegraph lines leading into the city. The Federals, in order to move messages from Chattanooga to their supply base in Bridgeport, Alabama, established a series of signal stations. One of those stations was here at Signal Point.
Messages relayed here from Bridgeport were flashed to Stringers Ridge (upriver to your left) and then on to Cameron Hill in the city. By this means, the Federals received news of reinforcements and supplies coming to their relief. When the siege was broken in late October, the signal stations diminished in importance.
The U.S. Army Signal Corps, established during the Civil War, operated the stations. Signals were sent by waving square flags or torches. Flag-waving patterns represented numbers. By using secret codes, number combinations could be translated into letters to form words. Observers used telescopes and binoculars for long-range viewing.
LOCATION: Marker is in Signal Mountain, Tennessee, in Hamilton County. Marker can be reached from Signal Point Road west of Flint Street. This historical marker is located at the end of Signal Point Road, in Signal Point Park, at the end of the trail that leads to the park's overlook of the Tennessee River Valley. Marker is in this post office area: Signal Mountain TN 37377, United States of America.
Visit Instructions:
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