Laying the Transatlantic Cable
Bufford, John H. "Atlantic Telegraph Polka," 1858
Barker, William J. & Kuhns, R. K. "Chart of the Submarine Atlantic Telegraph," 1858
The first transatlantic cable connected Newfoundland and Ireland. These two points were chosen based on the shape of the sea floor. Lieutenant Matthew Maury wrote to Field:
"From Newfoundland to Ireland, the distance between the nearest points is about 1,600 miles; and the bottom of the sea between the two places is a plateau, which seems to have been placed there especially for the purpose of holding the wires of a submarine telegraph."
~ Matthew F. Maury (Oslin)
Field organized the first Transatlantic Cable Company, raising $1,500,000. It took Field sixty-four ocean crossings to map out the finances and physical logistics of laying the cable. Many investors for the transatlantic cable were British, who were richer and more willing to take risks than Americans at the time, resulting in a largely British-funded campaign.
"Glory to God"
The transatlantic cable was completed on August 16, 1858. The first message between the U.S. and Britain read,
"Glory to God in the highest; on earth peace, good will towards men."
~ Robert Heinlein (Huurdeman)
The message took sixteen hours to be relayed--far quicker than the fourteen days it typically took to cross the Atlantic with a message by boat. After that first message, Queen Victoria and President James Buchanan wrote congratulations to each other.
The telegraphic messages of Queen Victoria and Pres. Buchanan.
Leslie, Frank. "Telegraphic Messages," 1858
European news was now up to date in the U.S., rather than many days late. The excitement for this created a problem. At the receiving end of the telegraph, only one news reporter could be in the room at a time--first come, first served. Many reporters would hold the end of the telegraph line by sending random information to the other end. This gave them time to formulate their story before they let the next reporter in. Newspapers wanted to say their stories were received over telegraph because it showed customers the stories were up-to-date.