Finally, the introduction of the telegraph had a lasting impact on wartime communication. Samuel Morse invented the telegraph in 1844, and it is estimated that 15,000 miles of telegraph cable were employed for military purposes during the Civil War. Telegraphs conveyed essential communication concerning battle positions and plans to the frontlines, as well as to the government and, through news reporting, to the general public.

President Lincoln routinely used technology to communicate with generals, while the media dispatched reporters to battlegrounds, enabling for faster reporting on the conflict than ever before.

Mail served both a physical as well as an emotional lifeline. Troops requested clothing, food, medicines, illegal alcoholic beverages, and news of any kind. Friends and family helped out as much as they could, as did the mail service. There have been reports of deliveries that were quick enough to send cooked meats and jarred fruits to their recipients. Publishers of books, journals, magazines, and newspapers also sent their subscribers letters. Above all, the guys just begged their friends and relatives to send them a letter in response, along with paper, ink, and stamps if possible. Unfortunately, because to enemy activity, mobile armies, and the low priority given to mail bags on supply trains, soldiers sent many more letters than they received.

In June 1861, both the United States and the Confederacy ceased all service to the other side, forcing individuals to rely on private couriers for North-South correspondence. Following that, as the dominating rail and maritime power, the Union permitted its citizens, both in and out of uniform, to remain relatively well-connected. In turn, the Confederacy struggled greatly because it was so reliant on Northern and European sources for ink, paper, and transportation equipment. By the summer of 1864, Richmond's journal, the Christian Observer, could only send editions to less than half of its subscribers. Countless bags of Confederate mail were intercepted or cut off with increasing frequency.

For many men in the mid-nineteenth century, the Civil War was their first, and for others, only, opportunity to have their portrait taken. When conditions permitted, soldiers went to a neighboring studio or traveling photographer, paid a week's pay, and obtained a dozen copies of their shadow, as the images were known. Friends and family could so remain visually linked to their boy. Soldiers on the field, on the other hand, received photos of family and sweethearts from home, though the luxury was granted more frequently to Union forces, whose territory had greater access to the necessary equipment, glass, and chemicals.

By late 1862, studio and individual reproductions of unit pictures, cityscapes, and landscapes had become more widespread (the technology was not yet available to transfer images to newsprint). These photos of camps, forts, and hospitals gave the audience a sense of realism. Shots of battlefields and their dead, taken from a few hours to several days after the conflict, drew a lot of attention to the home front's hearts and thoughts. Ghastly scenes spurred popular movements for and against the continuation of the Vietnam War, predicting television's impact on the conflict.