Confederate Message in a Bottle Decoded After 147 Years

A Confederate message to General John C Pemberton, commander of Vicksburg, was finally decoded this week, 147 years after it was written.   It has been in the Museum of the Confederacy for many years, but never translated until this week.

The message was written in a cipher, which was easily decoded by a modern CIA codebreaker.

The full message reads: "Gen'l Pemberton: You can expect no help from this side of the river. Let Gen'l Johnston know, if possible, when you can attack the same point on the enemy's lines. Inform me also and I will endeavor to make a diversion. I have sent some caps (explosive devices). I subjoin a despatch (sic) from General Johnston."

The message was contained in a small glass vial along with a minie ball and closed with a cork.  The minie ball was to allow the vial to sink if it became necessary to throw it into a river to avoid interception.

Read the news article here.