George Washington Spy Code

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Spy Glass Illustration

Kathryn J. Humphreys

Spy Code Mission:

General George Washington used spy codes to send important messages to his officers. The waterways played an important part in winning the Revolutionary War for the American army. Use the spy code from Washington's papers to decipher important words in this letter from General Washington to the Marquis De Lafayette, concerning trapping Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. The French fleet of battleships blocked the Chesapeake Bay so that Lord Cornwallis had to surrender the British troops to General Washington.

Spy Code Decoder

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Letter:

Headquarters, Kings Ferry, August 21, 1781

My dear Marquis:

You have the 12.1.14.4 and 14.1.22.1.12 forces needed to 20.18.1.16 // 12.15.18.4 // 3.15.18.14.23.1.12.12.9.19 and the 2.18.9.20.9.19.8 1.18.13.25 The 6.18.5.14.3.8 6.12.5.5.20 must keep the 2.18.9.20.9.19.8 // 19.8.9.16.19 // 15.21.20 of the 3.8.5.19.1.16.5.1.11.5 // 2.1.25 while you block the 2.18.9.20.9.19.8 // 1.18.13.25 from leaving the 16.5.14.9.14.19.21.12.1 The 1.13.5.18.9.3.1.14 // 18.5.22.15.12.21.20.9.15.14 can be 23.15.14 if the British army does not 5.19.3.1.16.5 by 19.8.9.16 from 25.15.18.11.20.15.23.14

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Answer for the Spy Code