Napoleon Bonaparte saw the military advantage in being able to transmit information between locations , and carried a portable semaphore with his headquarters .
By 1824 , the Chappe brothers were promoting the semaphore lines for commercial use , especially to transmit the costs of commodities .
Napoleon Bonaparte saw the military advantage in being able to transmit information between locations , and carried a portable semaphore with Chappe 's headquarters .
By 1824 , the Chappe brothers were promoting the semaphore lines for commercial use , especially to transmit the costs of commodities .