How long did telegraphs take?

Answer 1

The very first telegraphs used flags as a signalling system. Although much faster than horses, they relied on line of sight so the message needed to be received and re-sent numerous times. They were an ingenious system but were labor intensive and useless in fog.

The electric telegraphs allowed far longer distances to be covered without manual intervention. Once the technology was established, a message from one side of the country to the other was received instantly. The final link, from the telegraph office to the recipient relied on physical delivery of a message and it was this element that took the time.