There's no service here! Mom, can I go outside to get service?

Sure sweetie!

Billie was at home in her apartment.

While outside, Billie called for her magical genius talking dog, Alaska.

So my class is learning about the Civil War. It was a war of freedom fought between the north and the south over slave freedom back in 1862 to 1865.

My teacher was also talking about morse code and the before and afters of it today. I don't get it.

Well, why don't we find out?

This is Abraham Lincoln. This is during the Civil War when they used morse code. It was invented as a result of railroads.

Wait! Where's he going?

He must be done.

So when were railroads invented?

On February 18, 1827. It was the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. It was an improvement for transportation of passengers and freight.

Isn't there a museum of that railroad?

Sure is! Let's go there!

B&O Railroad Museum

Wow! This paper says these trains went a lot faster than trains now! It says the first steam locomotive could reach about 125 miles per hour!

Billie and Alaska traveled to the B&O railroad museum.

B&O Railroad Museum

Yeah, that's how they improved transportation. They were faster than steamboats. My favorite fun fact about them is that only two people founded the B&O Railroad: John W. Garrett and William Patterson.

B&O Railroad museum

That's cool! So morse code was created after railroads?

Yep! Let's go back to Lincon's office!

Morse code is basically a code where you get letters and words from a bunch of long and short sounds or lights and was sent over what was called a telegraph.

How's it used?

You would read the series of dots and dashes and translate it into letters of the alphabet.

Cool! That dude that was in here seemed pretty focused.

That's the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. He used morse code a lot in the Civil War. It was created about 30 years before the war, in 1836, by Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail, and Josef Henry.

Samuel Morse? Oh, that's why it's called morse code.

Yeah! It was cool back then. Now, we have technology, so people stopped using it in 1872, especially since the war was ended.

That’s a bummer! I think it’s cool.