Captain Samuel H. Beckwith (December 18, 1837 – December 6, 1916) was a

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

and

cipher In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode i ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," ...

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...

. He was nicknamed "Grant's Shadow" by other staff officers. Beckwith was the first to transmit news of

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth the ...

's whereabouts after Lincoln's assassination, leading to Booth’s capture. Beckwith was also present as Grant's telegraph officer on

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

's visits. In Washington, Lincoln used to daily visit the telegraph office, and cipher operator David Homer Bates was later to recall these visits, along with the testimony of

Thomas T. Eckert Thomas Thompson Eckert (April 23, 1825 – October 20, 1910) was an officer in the U.S. Army, Chief of the War Department Telegraph Staff from 1862–1866, United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1866–1867 and an executive at Western ...

, Charles A. Tinker, Albert B. Chandler, and Albert E. H. Johnson in ''Lincoln in the Telegraph Office'' (1907).David Homer Bates ''Lincoln in the Telegraph Office: Recollections of the United States Military Telegraph Corps During the Civil War'' Page 8- 1995 "It was in the War Department telegraph office that Lincoln received from the writer's hands, on May 24, 1861... the first authentic news of Booth's whereabouts should come from Grant's cipher-operator, Samuel H. Beckwith, who ... Thirty-six hours after Beckwith's despatch reached Washington the assassin was hunted down and shot.1 Lincoln's daily visits to the telegraph office were therefore greatly relished... He would there relax from the strain and care ever present at the White House, and while waiting for fresh despatches, ... his cabinet and his private secretaries, none were brought into closer or more confidential relations with Lincoln than the ... of those stirring scenes, namely:

, Charles A. Tinker, Albert B. Chandler, and the writer — who served as cipher-operators in the War Department telegraph office — and Albert E. H. Johnson, custodian of military telegrams."

Popular culture

In the 2012 film ''

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Linco ...

'', the character of the Washington war-room telegraph officer is credited as Grant's officer "Samuel Beckwith" but appears to be based on the memoirs of Washington cipher officer David Homer Bates. He was played by

Adam Driver Adam Douglas Driver (born November 19, 1983) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award; making him one of few performers nominated ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckwith, Samuel Union Army officers 1837 births 1916 deaths Telegraphists