Dr Church's Letter is Deciphered

       With Dr Church under arrest and under guard in the Continental Army's Hospital Headquarters located in the Vassall House, General George Washington turned his attention to finding a way to decipher Church's letter since Dr Church had refused to do so. Fortunately, a classmate of Dr Church (and John Hancock) at Harvard (Class of 1754) had the reputation and skills needed for the task. But Reverend Samuel West could hardly be more of a contrast to his Harvard classmate. West was born and raised in Yarmouth on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the son of a poor physician. As a young man he developed a reputation for his knowledge of the Bible and theology and attracted the notice of a local minister who tutored him so that he could take the exams to obtain a Fitch and Hollis scholarship to Harvard. Fitch and Hollis Scholarships were bequests for students at Harvard destined for the ministry. Legend has it that he walked to Harvard bare-footed with his shoes and stockings in hand. While at Harvard, West defrayed expenses by working as a waiter at the Fellows (tutors) table. After graduation, West worked as a schoolmaster until he obtained a position serving a very poor congregation in Dartmouth, Massachusetts on Buzzards Bay. To say that West was an eccentric is putting it mildly, but by this time he had developed a reputation for expertise in a wide variety of subjects and was reputed to have read every available book on law, history, law medicine, the political sciences and even alchemy. It is no wonder that he had developed a reputation for cryptography.

    West had a reputation as one of the most ardent of Patriots. After the battle of Bunker Hill, West served several months as a Chaplain administering to the Massachusetts militia and was therefore physically available for Washington to refer the letter to him for deciphering. West is now long forgotten but he was the perfect choice for Washington to turn for assistance in deciphering the letter.

   For further information on Rev Samuel West see my blog post on him.       

  .https://drbenjaminchurchjr.blogspot.com/2011/06/samuel-west.html

   As best as I can reconstruct, at the same time that Washington furnished a copy of Church's letter to West, he sent a copy to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety for informational purposes. Colonel Elisha Porter, the 33 year old Colonel of the Fourth Hampshire Regiment (Hadley, Mass) and a member of that Committee, received the letter. According to Elbridge Gerry (pronounced with a hard G), a prominent

Elbridge Gerry

member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, Porter showed him the letter. Porter, allegedly, had an expertise in cryptology and, with Gerry's assistance, deciphered the letter. Gerry then sent a copy of Church's letter to Robert Treat Paine who was, at the time, a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. This was done before Washington had a chance to communicate to the Continental Congress that the letter had been intercepted. Washington was reported to be very upset but I suspect that  he was more than upset and that action triggered one of his famous temper outbursts. It also triggered a letter from Joseph Reed, Washington's secretary to James Warren, President of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, complaining about Gerry's actions. Elbridge responded rather defensively but Washington had no authority over Gerry and the incident passed.

   A more detailed discussion of the Porter/Gerry Decode can be found here: 

  

   https://drbenjaminchurchjr.blogspot.com/2011/06/gerryporter-decode.html 

   In any event, Washington used the West translation of the letter in an upcoming Council of War and treated it as the official translation. Curiously, Washington sent the Porter/Gerry translation as an enclosure to John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, when he informed him of Church's letter. 

   Before we move on with West's translation and Washington's reaction to it, I thought that recounting a letter Rev Samuel West sent to General Washington some ten days after deciphering Church's letter would give a glimpse into the character of Dr West and the type of thing with which Washington, and his Secretary, had to contend.

Plymouth October the 11th 1775

Sir:

When I was att Head Quarters the other Day, my good friend mr Pierpont informed your Excellency, that I had lost my horse; and proposed, that I should have one of the Provincial horses presented to me to supply my loss; the manner in which mr Pierpont introduc'd the Subject gave me a great deal of Pain and uneasiness; because (I thought) it had the Appearance of a design to beg a favor of the Gentlemen of the Army; when therefore Colonel Read offered to Send me an horse to ride home; I was under So much confusion as not to know certainly whether the horse was only lent me to ride home, or whether it was design'd to be presented to me for my own; mr Pierpont thought that the horse was presented to me as a gift; but I judg'd from Several things that it was only lent me to ride home; and accordingly had fully determined as Soon as I had gotten home to Send the horse back by the first opportunity; But several Gentlemen of my Acquaintance upon hearing an Account of the matter, judg'd, that I had a just right to have satisfaction made me by the Continent for my loss, inasmuch as I had preach'd in the camp five Sabbaths and a fast, and expected no reward for my Services, they thought, that I had a right to be Made whole by the Continent for any Damage I Might Sustain while I was doing duty in the camp. Colonel Warren of Plymouth Speaker of the house of representatives was so full in this Sentiment, that he advised me to present a memorial to your Excellency; and to represent the matter in proper light; not doubting, but that your Excellency would judge it proper that the continent should make good the damage that I have Sustain'd. It is in Consequence of his Advice, that I have now written this letter to your Excellency. In order that your Excellency may form a true judgment of the matter, I must briefly State the fact which is thus - mr Spring who is now gone chaplain to Quebec, had liberty granted him by Dr Cogswill to take his horse and ride him to newbury port and Sell him for Nine Pounds; he thro a Mistake took my horse and Sold him in his journey to a man belonging to Salem; hearing of this I went to sale, and when I came there was told that the horse was gone off, the Stable door being left open - diligent Search was made but he could not be found; Now as there is no person, of whom I can legally demand Satisfaction for my loss, except mr Spring, and as it is very uncertain when he will return from Quebec, and as I Stand in need of an horse every Day almost when I am at home, if your Excellency thinks my request to be rational and that the publick ought to make good the Damage that I have Sustaind; I Should be glad to have liberty granted to me keep the horse that Colonel Read Sent me, till I have proper Satisfaction made me by mr Spring for the loss that I have Susaind. If your Excellency will Send a line to me by the bearer of this mr Joseph Howland to let me know whether I must return the horse back by the first opportunity, or whether I may keep him till I am otherwise Satisfied., it will lay a peculiar obligation upon your Excellency's most humble and obedient servant.  

   Samuel Spring  was a Congregational clergyman who had recently completed his studies at Princeton and served in Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec.

   

Dr West's Letter to Washington

   Joseph Reed replied to West on 17 October 1775:

Mr Pierpont was mistaken in his Notion of the Loan of the Horse, which we understood was only requested to accommodate you in your journey home. I was not at Liberty to go farther - We also understood you proposed to return to the Army shortly - The General having given me no farther Direction upon the Subject I can only say that if your Business should again call you up here you can make Application if you do not you can keep the Horse you have until you hear further on the Subject from this - But the Property of the Horse in the mean Time is not changed.

   While some may feel that this is much ado about a horse, one must remember that Dr West served a very poor community of farmers, was paid a pittance, and several times had to go to court to sue for his back salaries. 

Dr Church's Cypher Letter to John Fleeming

   Below is the original Church cypher letter, with envelope. The original is in the George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress. Access to the original letter is now restricted; however, I was able to handle this letter over 25 years ago before access, necessarily, was restricted by the Library.

   Below is a readable copy of the original cipher letter:

   Church used what is referred to in cryptography as a "monoalphabetic cipher" in his letter to John Fleeming, his brother-in-law -  a simple substitution code that uses fixed substitution over the entire message as opposed to a "polyalphabetic cipher" that uses a number of substitutions at different times. Here is the key to Dr Church 's cipher:

The top line is the alphabet. The second line sets forth the substitutions in Church's handwriting. The third line is the legible version of the second line.

   Using the key, we get the first two sentences of the letter:

      I hope this will reach you. Three attempts have I made without success in effecting the last.

   Those interested in the use of ciphers in correspondence in Colonial America may wish to read my blog post on that subject.

https://drbenjaminchurchjr.blogspot.com/2011/05/use-of-ciphers-in-colonial-america.html