Anson Stager
| Anson Stager | |
|---|---|
Anson Stager
|
|
| Born |
April 22, 1825 Ontario County, New York |
| Died | March 26, 1885 (aged 59) Chicago, Illinois |
| Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
| Service/branch | Union Army |
| Years of service | 1861 - 1868 |
| Rank |
Colonel Brevet Brigadier General |
| Commands held | Military Telegraph Department |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
| Other work | President of Western Electric Manufacturing Company |
Anson Stager (April 20, 1825 - March 26, 1885) was the co-founder of Western Union, the first president of Western Electric Manufacturing Company and Union Army general, where he was head of the Military Telegraph Department during the Civil War.
He was born in Ontario County, New York. At age sixteen, Stager began working as an apprentice on the Rochester Daily Advertiser for a printer and telegraph builder named Henry O'Reilly of Rochester, New York. After the latter had a telegraph line constructed from Philadelphia to Harrisburg he placed Stager in operator positions in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and then at age 21 he was put in charge of the first Lancaster, Pennsylvania office in 1846. In the spring of 1848, he was made chief operator of the "National lines" at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he made several improvements in battery and wire arrangement. In 1852 Stager was promoted to superintendent, and also served as the first general superintendent of Western Union Company, newly consolidated in 1856.
After the Civil War broke out in April 1861, Stager was requested by Ohio governor William Dennison, Jr. to manage the telegraphs in southern Ohio and along the Virginia Line. Stager obliged and immediately prepared a cipher by which he could securely communicate with those who had the key (notably the governors of Illinois and Indiana). In October he was called to Washington and appointed head of the Military Telegraph Department, which oversaw government telegraphs in all departments. He remained in service until September, 1868, and was made a brevet brigadier general of volunteers for valuable services.
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