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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
It appears that quilts made by slaves in the early 19th century often contained symbols conveying messages of information and advice to others preparing to escape to freedom. Click here to read the related story on the National Cryptologic Museum, and click here to check out the entire Road Trip 2010 package.20 of 27Daniel Terdiman/CNETConfederate cipher reelThis is a cipher reel used by the Confederate Army during the Civil War. "The principal cryptosystem used by the Confederate government and military was a centuries-old cipher known variously as the 'court' or 'diplomatic' cipher, now referred to as 'the Vigenere' for its 16th century proponent. In its usual form, an alphabetic square or matrix, comprised of 26 alphabets, each slide over by one letter, is combined with a key (usually a phrase) to produce 'polyalphabetic substitution.' To assist the eye and facilitate use of the cipher, the Confederates manufactured several different types of devices, such as the 'reel.' This is one of just two such devices known to have survived the Civil War and it bears penciled notations of the names of Confederate officers and soldiers.Click here to read the related story on the National Cryptologic Museum, and click here to check out the entire Road Trip 2010 package.21 of 27Daniel Terdiman/CNETThis is the Hebern Electric Code Machine, from 1918. "In the two decades prior to World War II, Edward H. Hebern was the first American inventor to make a truly significant contribution to cipher machine development. His machines were the first to embody the wired rotor principle of encipherment. Hebern continued to design and build electro-mechanical rotor machines until the eve of World War II." This is the first of Hebern's rotor machines. It used a single rotor and was made of brass. It worked along with an electric typewriter and
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