The numbers that Major Tallmadge assigned to members of the Culper Ring were from a secret writing system he invented. He substituted digits for words that would be used in messages. "Long Island," for example, was 728, "arms" was 7, and "city" was 88. There was a number for each month, such as 34l for "January." He made four copies of his codes. He kept one and gave the others to Woodhull, Townsend, and General Washington. For words that did not have a number code, Tallmadge gave his agents a cipher. In a cipher, each letter in a message is replaced by another letter or a number.
Read the excerpt from "Tools of the Spymaster."General Gates' troops held their ground. Benedict Arnold, one of Gates' generals, argued for a counterattack that would smash the British force. Gates, outraged that Arnold would challenge his order, took away his command. But the rash Arnold saw a chance to strike a crucial blow. He galloped through the crossfire of both armies, inspiring his men. A bullet struck his leg, but he rode on, leading the final assault that shattered the British fortifications. If he had died of his wounds that day, Arnold would be remembered as one of the great heroes of the Revolutionary War.
Read the excerpt from “Tools of the Spymaster."General Clinton, concerned about what General Howe was planning and doing, made use of a mask to write a secret message in a letter to General Burgoyne.Before writing the letter, Clinton had placed an hourglass-shaped mask on a piece of paper and then had formed the secret message within that shape.The unmasked letter had enough false information in it to fool any American who happened to see it. But when Burgoyne viewed the letter with the mask, he read Clinton's view of the real situation: Howe has made a bad move; I don't have enough men to do anything about it.
Read the excerpt from “Tools of the Spymaster."The numbers that Major Tallmadge assigned to members of the Culper Ring were from a secret writing system he invented. He substituted digits for words that would be used in messages. "Long Island," for example, was 728, "arms" was 7, and "city" was 88. There was a number for each month, such as 341 for "January." He made four copies of his codes. He kept one and gave the others to Woodhull, Townsend, and General Washington. For words that did not have a number code, Tallmadge gave his agents a cipher. In a cipher, each letter in a message is replaced by another letter or a number.
Read the excerpt from “Tools of the Spymaster."Later, as Clinton's troops were heading up the Hudson Valley, Clinton used another device to pass the news of his whereabouts to Burgoyne. Clinton wrote a message on a piece of silk that he put in a silver ball about the size of a musket ball. (Clinton also sometimes cut a message into long, narrow strips and coiled them into the hollow quill of a large feather.) Clinton gave the silver ball to Daniel Taylor, a young officer, promising that Taylor would be promoted if he got the message to Burgoyne. If he were captured, he was to swallow the ball. Because it was made of silver, it could not harm him.
Read the excerpt from “Tools of the Spymaster."Both the British and the Americans frequently used horseback riders to carry messages, and both sides tried to capture the riders and get the messages. The rider who lost one of Washington's important messages was Tallmadge himself. It happened when Tallmadge and some of his men were attacked by British troops near the Connecticut–New York border. Tallmadge escaped unharmed but lost a saddlebag full of secret papers.Luckily, Tallmadge's code did not fall into British hands. But among the papers was a letter from Washington in which he carelessly gave the name and address of an agent, George Higday, saying that he was a man who would probably "convey intelligence to me." Higday was arrested, but he had managed to destroy all evidence of spying. That move probably saved him from hanging.
Read the excerpt from "Tools of the Spymaster."General Gates' troops held their ground. Benedict Arnold, one of Gates' generals, argued for a counterattack that would smash the British force. Gates, outraged that Arnold would challenge his order, took away his command. But the rash Arnold saw a chance to strike a crucial blow. He galloped through the crossfire of both armies, inspiring his men. A bullet struck his leg, but he rode on, leading the final assault that shattered the British fortifications. If he had died of his wounds that day, Arnold would be remembered as one of the great heroes of the Revolutionary War.
Read the excerpt from “Tools of the Spymaster."The numbers that Major Tallmadge assigned to members of the Culper Ring were from a secret writing system he invented. He substituted digits for words that would be used in messages. "Long Island," for example, was 728, "arms" was 7, and "city" was 88. There was a number for each month, such as 341 for "January." He made four copies of his codes. He kept one and gave the others to Woodhull, Townsend, and General Washington. For words that did not have a number code, Tallmadge gave his agents a cipher. In a cipher, each letter in a message is replaced by another letter or a number.
Read the excerpt from “Tools of the Spymaster."The numbers that Major Tallmadge assigned to members of the Culper Ring were from a secret writing system he invented. He substituted digits for words that would be used in messages. "Long Island," for example, was 728, "arms" was 7, and "city" was 88. There was a number for each month, such as 341 for "January." He made four copies of his codes. He kept one and gave the others to Woodhull, Townsend, and General Washington. For words that did not have a number code, Tallmadge gave his agents a cipher. In a cipher, each letter in a message is replaced by another letter or a number.
Read the excerpt from "Tools of the Spymaster."General Clinton, concerned about what General Howe was planning and doing, made use of a mask to write a secret message in a letter to General Burgoyne.Before writing the letter, Clinton had placed an hourglass-shaped mask on a piece of paper and then had formed the secret message within that shape.The unmasked letter had enough false information in it to fool any American who happened to see it. But when Burgoyne viewed the letter with the mask, he read Clinton's view of the real situation: Howe has made a bad move; I don't have enough men to do anything about it.
Did you find these answers helpful?