Masked Dispatches: Cryptograms and Cryptology in American History, 1775-1900

Chapter 3. The Church Cryptogram: Birth of Our Nation's Cryptology

Michael L. Peterson

Although the art of cryptology had become quite sophisticated by 1775, it seems appropriate that the first documented instance of cryptanalysis playing a part in the birth of our nation involved one of the most simple cipher systems ever devised – monoalphabetic substitution. And in the grand historic drama that was the Revolutionary War, the discovery of the Dr. Church cryptogram, its decipherment and consequences, rates little more than perhaps a short scene. But American cryptologists can be cheered by the fact that it was played out with no less a champion of cryptanalysis than General George Washington cast in the starring role.

No one will ever know what ...