Description
A unique perspective on the construction of the transcontinental telegraph line. It is the only known extensive source written about the day-to-day construction of one segment of the first transcontinental telegraph line. The diary, published with the permission of the Smithsonian Institution, provides a detailed account of individuals, road ranches, attitudes toward Indians, public promotion of the spirit of Manifest Destiny, difficulties faced by construction crews, the nature of frontier law enforcement, and the issues of secession and Civil War. The book is a valuable addition to the history of telegraphy and the Westward Expansion of the United States.
