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Chief Signal Officer of the
United States Army
Department of the Army
SeatThe Pentagon
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Formation28 July 1866
First holderColonel Albert J. Myer
Final holderMajor General David P. Gibbs
Abolished31 July 1964

The Chief Signal Officer of the United States Army was an office which was established during the American Civil War. Over the course of a century, the chief signal officer was the commanding officer of the U.S. Army Signal Corps which at various times was responsible for combat communications, strategic communications, purchasing the Army's communications equipment, weather reporting, Army photography and motion pictures, collection of signal intelligence, and research and development of technologies as diverse as wig-wag flag signaling, cryptography, radar, homing pigeons, FM radio, submarine cable, combat aircraft, and satellite communications. The chief signal officer was the principal advisor to the Secretary of War, and after 1947, the Secretary of Defense, on all matters related to communications.

While the office of chief signal officer survived for a century, its responsibilities, role, and position in the Army and American society varied dramatically over time. The office evolved with changing technology, changes in America's role in the world, and the impact of major wars. The chief signal officer was frequently involved in policy discussions with Congress and the rest of the military over the breadth of his responsibilities and the role of the Signal Corps in the Army and American society. The office was eliminated in a 1964 reorganization.

Civilian origins

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At the outbreak of the war, there were several private telegraph companies in the United States. The Union government recognized their importance to its military effort. In May 1861, railroad executive Thomas A. Scott was appointed by the secretary of war to take control of railroad and telegraph networks around Washington, D.C., and ultimately across the Union.[1] This effort grew into the United Stated Military Telegraph Corps, which despite its name, was a military/civilian hybrid organization. Its operators were civilian telegraphers, mostly recruited from the railroads and private telegraph companies. It was organized to meet the emergency of the war without the benefit of Congressional authorization or funding which was finally provided in early 1862.[2][3]

Over the course of the war, the U.S. Military Telegraph Corps built 14,211 miles of permanent land lines, 178 miles of submarine cable, and 1,000 miles of temporary field lines. Its total budget for the period was $3,219,400.[4]

In December 1865 the telegraph lines which the government had seized were returned to their private companies. The new lines built by the U.S. Military Telegraph Corps were sold to nearby private companies. By the end of 1866 all of the personnel had been reassigned or dismissed.[4]

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Predecessor positions

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Signal officer (1860–1863)

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Albert J. Myer was an Army doctor who proposed a new method of flag signaling in 1856. He was given a hearing on his idea by an examination board chaired by Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee in 1859, and was authorized to conduct tests of his method. The tests were promising, and Myer appeared before the House and Senate Military Affairs Committees. In June 1860, Congress voted to fund one signal officer on the Army staff with the rank of major to pursue this work.[6] Myer was appointed to the position.[7] His role was to continue experimenting with signal technology to understand its potential usefulness to the Army.

Signal Officer of the Army (1863–1866)

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On 3 March 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, Congress enacted into law the position of Signal Officer of the Army to lead the Army Signal Corps. The authorization for this position was temporary, only for the duration of "the present rebellion." The signal officer of the Army was to have the rank of Colonel. Congress authorized a staff of one lieutenant colonel, and two majors who were to act as inspectors for the Corps. Each Army Corps or military department was to have one captain, and as many lieutenants as the President saw fit to name, up to eight.[8]

Chief Signal Officer (1866–1964)

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After the Civil War, in 1866, Congress passed a law to establish the peacetime structure of the Army. The office of Chief Signal Officer of the Army was created as a permanent position with the rank of colonel, and gave the Secretary of War the discretion to assign as many as 6 officers, and 100 non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel to signal duty.[9]

World War II (1942–194x)

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At General George C. Marshall's suggestion, Franklin Roosevelt ordered the Army reorganized into three commands effective 9 March 1942. They were ground forces, air forces, and services of supply, later renamed the Army Service Forces.[10] Under this organization, the chief signal officer reported to the commanding general of the Army Service Forces, Lieutenant General Brehon B. Somervell.

McNamara reorganization (196x–1964)

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Department of the Army General Order 28, dated 28 February 1964 specified that on 31 July 1964 the office of Chief Signal Officer was abolished. Major General Gibbs, the last chief signal officer, became Chief of Communications-Electronics. This new role included staff responsibilities of the previous office while the operational responsibilities were distributed elsewhere in the Army.

Successor position

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There were still Army signal soldiers after the office of chief signal officer was abolished. Beginning on 3 June 1986, the commandant of the U.S. Army Signal School was designated Chief of Signal, and is responsible for personnel planning, development, and advocacy for all signal soldiers and organizations within the Army.[11]

Chief Signal Officers

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Image Rank Name Begin Date End Date Notes
Colonel Albert J. Myer 29 April 1863 10 November 1863 [12][7]
Lieutenant Colonel William J. L. Nicodemus 15 November 1863 26 December 1864
Colonel Benjamin F. Fisher 15 November 1866 [7]
Brigadier General Albert J. Meyer 21 August 1867 24 August 1880 [13][14]
Brigadier General William B. Hazen 17 December 1880 16 January 1887 [12]
Brigadier General Adolphus W. Greely 3 March 1887 9 February 1906 [12][15]
Brigadier General James Allen 10 February 1906 13 February 1913 [12][15]
Brigadier General George P. Scriven 5 March 1913 13 February 1917 [15]
Major General George O. Squier 14 February 1917 31 December 1923 [12][15]
Major General Charles M. Saltzman 1 January 1924 8 January 1928 [15]
Major General George S. Gibbs 9 January 1928 30 June 1931 [15]
Major General Irving J. Carr 1 July 1931 31 December 1934 [15]
Major General James B. Allison 1 January 1935 30 September 1937 [15]
Major General Joseph O. Mauborgne 1 October 1937 30 September 1941 [15]
Major General Dawson Olmstead 1 October 1941 30 June 1943 [15]
Major General Harry C. Ingles 1 July 1943 31 March 1947 [15]
Major General Spencer B. Akin 1 April 1947 31 March 1951 [15]
Major General George I. Back 2 May 1951 30 April 1955 [15]
Lieutenant General James D. O'Connell 1 May 1955 30 April 1959 [15]
Major General Ralph T. Nelson 1 May 1959 30 June 1962 [15]
Major General Earle F. Cook 1 July 1962 [15]
Major General David P. Gibbs 31 July 1964

References

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  1. ^ "Telegraph And Railroad Facilities". Pittsburg Post. 6 June 1861. p. 1.
  2. ^ "12 Stat. 334 (1862)" (PDF).
  3. ^ "Taking into Military Possession all Telegraph Lines in the United States". The American Presidency Project.
  4. ^ a b Annual Report of the Secretary of War. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1866. pp. 2, 159, 300.
  5. ^ Bates, David Homer (1907). Lincoln in the Telegraph Office: Recollections of the United States Military Telegraph Corps During the Civil War. Century Company.
  6. ^ "12 Stat. 66 (1860)" (PDF).
  7. ^ a b c Raines, Rebecca Robins (1999). Getting the Message Through: A Branch History of the U.S. Signal Corps. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 7, 21, 43.
  8. ^ "12 Stat. 753 (1863)" (PDF).
  9. ^ "14 Stat. 335 (1866)" (PDF).
  10. ^ "Executive Order 9082, Reorganization of the Army of the United States and Transfer of functions Within the War Department" (PDF). Federal Register. 7 (42): 1609. 3 March 1942.
  11. ^ A Concise History of the U.S. Army Signal Corps (PDF). 1991.
  12. ^ a b c d e "The Chief Signal Officers of the U.S. Army". catalog.archives.gov. 1936. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Appointment". Buffalo Courier Express. 6 November 1866. p. 3.
  14. ^ "The Death of Gent. Myer". The New York Times. 25 August 1880. p. 5.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Hewes, Jr., James E. (1975). From Root to McNamara. Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office. p. 407.
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