Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 23:38:20 -0400
From: Charles Baldwin <Charles.Baldwin@mail.wvu.edu>
To: sondheim@panix.com
Subject: cipherwork

I've been sending examples of historical ciphers to WRYTING. The first
was used by the Tilden managers during the 1876 presidential campaign,
the plain text discussing an effort to rig the voting. Its a
monoalphabet substition cipher.

The second is an uncommon form of transposition cipher, known as the
Federal Army cipher and used extensively by the Union during the Civil
War. Supposedly the other side was unable to solve the cipher, even
going to the length of advertising in newspapers for cipher experts
skilled in "deciphering without the key." The one I sent was a
communication from Lincoln. It simply reverses and transposes words.
Read it aloud backwards.

Both are interesting, secondarily, because they were used as examples
in William Friedman's courses on cryptography. Friedman was known as the
world's greatest cryptographer and was the founder of the American
cryptographic business. He was chief technical consultant at the
founding of the NSA in 1956, later special assistant to the director,
and his training/approach to cryptography formed that "agency." He also
broke the Purple code, etc. The courses I take this from were standard
for Army cryptographers and later for the Secret Intelligent Service,
precursor of the NSA. (Plus, his wife Elizabeth set up the cryptography
office at the founding of the CIA.)

I'll be sending more.