Semaphore

Sure, it's a nautical code with flags, but Napoleon adopted a system in 1793 that allowed the French to communicate rapidly around the country fifty years before morse. The Wikipedia had a really nice entry. Then, if you really want to know about the Chappe Semaphore, including pictures, a map, and everything...

Interesing. I got to thinking about the Chappe Semaphore while reading the Horatio Hornblower novels.