Item No. 2255664

This US military telegraph message was sent on December 15, 1864, from Bridgeport, Alabama, by Union Captain George A. Armstrong of the quartermaster’s department. Transmitting to the Army of the Cumberland’s chief quartermaster Colonel Andrew J. Mackay, Armstrong writes:

It is recommended by Col Taylor Comd’g Post that I put the Employees of this Dept at work on fortifications. Shall I so employ them?
Geo. A. Armstrong
Capt. A.Q.M.

Colonel Marion C. Taylor of the 15th Kentucky was in command at Bridgeport. No doubt he was on edge given that the Confederate Army of Tennessee under John Bell Hood had marched nearby on their campaign toward Nashville. In fact, the very day this telegraph was sent, Hood’s army was engaged at the Battle of Nashville. In Bridgeport, Colonel Taylor feared that his advanced position presented a danger. In a December 14 communication appearing in the Official Records, Taylor indicates that the defenses of Bridgeport “will require considerable labor to put them in a defensible condition” (OR XLV, Part II, p. 192). If Taylor requested Armstrong put his quartermaster staff to work on fortifications, it suggests he was quite concerned about the post’s security.

The telegraph is briefly docketed on the reverse. It was written on a pre-printed telegraph form with only the bottom portion of the “U.S. Military Telegraph” header present. It measures about 5 1/4” x 7 3/4”. Creased at the original fold.