David Homer Bates experienced the Civil War from a desk in the telegraph office in the War Department. Bates received reports from battlefield commanders in all theaters of operation and conveyed them to President Abraham Lincoln, who often spent long hours in the telegraph office waiting for news of the latest campaign. The diary Bates kept from November 1863 until June 1865 is a remarkable record of the war as it happened. Editor Donald Markle opens the book with a short but informative overview of the military telegraph. Markle describes the transformation of military command and control abilities resulting from the advent of the telegraph, and the resources devoted to improving and expanding the telegraph during the Civil War. David Homer Bates will in all likelihood never be a household name associated with the Civil War. Thanks to the expert editing of Donald Markle, however, Bates' absorbing diary provides readers with the unique experience of reliving the war's last eighteen months.

he military telegraph -- David Homer Bates -- Introduction to the diary -- November, December 1863 -- January, February, March 1864 -- April, May, June 1864 -- July, August, September 1864 -- October, November, December 1864 -- January, February, March 1865 -- April, May, June 1865.