Telegraph Companies--The Western Union Telegraph Company (Rochester, N.Y.)

Headquartered in Rochester, New York, the Western Union Telegraph Company was a telegraph company established in 1851. Before the Civil War, the telegraph was a growing technology, but Western Union brought it to the national stage, especially upon the completion of the transcontinental line in 1861. Western Union Telegraph Company provided near-instantaneous communication between the Union government and its far-reaching troops, allowing for faster troop movement, supply coordination, and battlefield updates. Western Union also facilitated communication between families, boosting morale and providing vital wartime news. However, the war fractured the network as Confederate and Union forces targeted telegraph lines, disrupting communication and necessitating constant repairs. The South relied on a separate system, hindering Confederate coordination and leaving them at an informational disadvantage. During Reconstruction, Western Union facilitated communication between the federal government and freed people, by relaying news of political and social developments, and Black communities seized the technology to organize their efforts in the fight for civil rights. However, Western Union's power faced criticism for its role in suppressing dissent and reinforcing control during Reconstruction. (Wikipedia; Western Union; National Archives; Smithsonian)In 1851, the Western Union telegraph company was founded in Rochester, NY under the name the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company. In 1856, the company merged with the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company and was renamed the Western Union Telegraph Company. An innovator in technology, by October 1861, it completed the first transcontinental telegraph by sending a message from the west coast to President Abraham Lincoln on the east coast. This accomplishment set the stage for the company to dominate the telegraph industry in the United States after the Civil War. In 1871, it also pioneered wire money transfer, which increasingly became the focus of the company throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The Western Union company continues today as a strictly money-transferring industry, having abandoned its communications operations in 2006. (Wikipedia)