[SMCARA] A very interesting read

[Tom Shelton]

I learned something new...

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From: http://www.dailyprogress.com/lifestyles/article_2cecf922-4b8c-11e2-b978-001a4bcf6878.html


Code of honor: Father and son bring accurate telegraph history to 'Lincoln'
David A. Maurer | Posted: Sunday, December 23, 2012 6:00 am 



For more than a century, lives and the world were affected by messages sent and received via a series of formalized "dits" and "dahs" known as Morse code.

The tones are created by a hand-operated key and transmitted electronically. This was the first practical use of electricity, and the combination of the key and a sounder makes up what is known as the telegraph.

Skilled telegraph operators once were the hinges on which doors of fate often pivoted. Messages of joy and sorrow, as well as vital information, were transmitted first through wires and later the atmosphere.

Samuel Morse and his assistant, Alfred Vail, are credited with inventing the electric telegraph, but they were helped by the ideas of others. When Morse sent the first official telegraph message from Washington to Baltimore on May 24, 1844, few could have realized the extent to which this new invention would affect human history.

Annie Ellsworth, the young daughter of the commissioner of patents, was given the honor of choosing the first message. Perhaps she had an inkling of the magnitude of the moment, because she selected the biblical statement "What hath God wrought."

By the outbreak of the Civil War in the spring of 1861, the telegraph had proved to be a wonderful means of quick, long-range communications. Abraham Lincoln was the first president to use the system to stay in touch with his generals in the field.

Steven Spielberg's new film, "Lincoln," dramatically shows the importance of the telegraph during the war years. Local Morse code enthusiasts Jim Wilson and his son Matt helped the renowned filmmaker attain a remarkable level of historical authenticity as it pertains to the telegraph of that era.

"In July 2011, advertisements in newspapers, especially in the Richmond area, announced they were looking for extras for the 'Lincoln' movie," said Jim Wilson who lives in North Garden.

"Matt and I drove down there and found a line about three blocks long of people wanting to be in the film. We were thinking our chances weren't very good.

"We had to fill out a form about ourselves, and one of the questions asked if we had any special talents. We put down that we were Civil War telegraph operators."

Jim Wilson is the longtime editor of Dots & Dashes, the official publication of the Morse Telegraph Club Inc. For years, he and his son have participated in Civil War re-enactments as telegraph operators of the period.

"Usually, when people hear we're telegraph operators, their eyes glaze over - but this time, boy, did they perk up," Jim Wilson said with a smile. "It was like, 'What? We found somebody who knows something about Morse code and the telegraph in the 1800s?'

"They immediately wanted us to be technical consultants and put together a class for the actors who would be portraying the operators. We did that, and on Oct. 17, 2011, in Mechanicsville, we taught about 30 people about things like how to hold the telegraph key.

"And we showed them how to send the original American Morse code, not the international Morse code that was introduced later."

The two types of code are similar, but the international version became the gold standard, because it was simpler and more exact. It takes considerable time and practice to learn the code and be able to send and receive it at a reasonable speed.

"The main telegraph operator in the film was brought down from a stage play he was doing on Broadway," said Jim Wilson, a Vietnam veteran who taught Morse code while serving in the Army.

"They had him there for three days, and in that time we were supposed to teach him Morse code. It usually takes months to become proficient at it, but he asked to borrow our telegraph key and sounder overnight.

"When he came back the next day, he had that particular message memorized and could send it perfectly."

Jim Wilson learned Morse code from his father, who was a ham radio operator. In turn, he taught it to his son when he became interested in it.

"When I was in the third grade I wanted to learn it, because it was cool and interesting," Matt Wilson said. "At the time, I didn't appreciate the wider historical context of it.

"It was just this secret code, and my friends wanted to learn it, too. It was a fun thing we could use with our Walkie Talkies.

"I came to see the beauty in its minimalism. That's especially true today, when we have so many sources of communications."

Morse code is not a dying skill, but it's no longer depended on as it once was. In 2007, the requirement of knowing Morse code in order to obtain an amateur radio license was eliminated.

The U.S. Army's Special Forces, commonly known as the Green Berets, was the last military unit in the world to use Morse code. The reason was that all other forms of communications could go down, but Morse code still would get through.

One of the most iconic images of Special Forces was of a man in the middle of nowhere working a hand-cranked generator as his partner sent or received a message. A few years ago, they too stopped using Morse code, ending the requirement that every Green Beret "commo" man had to be able to send and receive at least 15 words a minute using it.

"The railroads stopped using Morse code in the 1960s," said Jim Wilson, who worked for 31 years as a city planner in Alexandria. "Several years ago, the Boy Scouts stopped giving a merit badge for it, but once in a while they still show an interest in it.

"Last year, we set up a Morse code exhibit at the Frost Fest in Richmond, which is a big amateur radio event. People were constantly coming up to us and saying they either remembered it or were wondering what it was.

"It's still popular in the amateur radio communities, and people continue to learn it. You can go on the Internet, look up Morse code and find practice sessions."

Both Wilsons appear in the "Lincoln" movie, most of which was filmed in Richmond and Petersburg. The father is seen as a businessman, and the son portrays a telegraph operator.

The father-son team provided Spielberg with exact information on what Lincoln's telegraph office looked like. It was two blocks from the White House and became one of the president's favorite haunts.

"My understanding is that Lincoln wrote the draft for the Emancipation Proclamation in the telegraph office and not at the White House," Jim Wilson said. "While Spielberg took great pains in getting everything authentic in the film, he cheated a bit with the telegraph office.

"It was a small office with three telegraph operators, but in the film they made it larger and have 16 operators. But the equipment is very accurate, right down to the chemical batteries that you don't even see in the film."

A memorable scene in "Lincoln" occurs in the telegraph office when the president asks a young operator for his thoughts on a deeply philosophical question about life. The inquiry was well suited for the room where the nation's leader suffered terrible anguish and sorrow while reading dispatches from battlefields.

But the film centers not on the war, but the political turmoil surrounding the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which outlaws slavery. Critics have praised the film lavishly for its powerful presentation of an important historical event.

"As a potential Spielberg classic I assumed 'Lincoln' would also be an important historical chronicle, so it was important to get it right," Matt Wilson said.

"Being meticulous and scrutinizing, even in our small role, felt like a meaningful contribution to telling history with accuracy."

Jim Wilson said it was a thrill to witness the making of the film. That he experienced it with his son made it even more special.

"This was a father-and-son event we will remember with pride for the rest of our lives," Jim Wilson said.

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Tom Shelton, AB3IC
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