Delegates to Congress . Letters of delegates to Congress, 1774-1789, Volume 18, September 1 1781-July 31 1782
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James Lovell to To: Nathanael Greene



Sir
Philada. Sepr. 21st. 1781

   You once sent some Papers to Congress which no one about you could decypher.(1) Should such be the Case with some you have lately forwarded,(2) I presume that the Result of my Pains, herein sent, will be useful to you. I took the Papers out of Congress; and I do not think it necessary to let it be known here what my Success has been


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in the attempt. For, it appears to me that the Enemy make only such Changes in their Cypher, when they meet with misfortunes, as makes a difference of Position only to the same Alphabet. And therefore, if no Talk of Discovery is made by us here or by your Family, you may be in Chance to draw Benefit this Campaign from my last Night's Watching.

   I am Sir, with much Regard, Your Friend,

   James Lovell

   P.S. Sepr. 22d. With greater Pain than in the Cases of Balfour's & Craig's Epistles, I have also succeeded to find the Key of the Papers which are without date, subscription or intermixture of letters, said to be "intercepted with others dated 7th of March 1781."(3) I do not suppose it now in use; however, I send it. J L


ENCLOSURE

   Balfours Letter of Augst. 12th. 1781 to Lt. Col. Stewart is by only one arrangement of the same alphabet which is used in three by J H Craig July 23d. 1781 in his Letter to Ld. Cornwallis.(4)

    Balfour's Aug. 12 Craig's July 23d. a 31 a 26 a 34 a 15 b 12 b 36 b 15 b 25 c 22 c 17 c 25 c 35 d 32 d 27 d 35 d 16 e 13 e 37 e 16 e 26 f 23 f 18 f 26 f 36 g 33 g 28 g 36 g 17 h 14 h 38 h 17 h 27 i 24 i 19 i 27 i 37 k 34 k 29 k 37 k 18 l 15 l 39 l 18 l 28 m 25 m 31 m 28 m 38 n 35 n 12 n 38 n 19 o 16 o 22 o 19 o 29 p 26 p 32 p 29 p 39 q 36 q 13 q 39 q 31 r 17 r 23 r 31 r 12 s 27 s 33 s 12 s 22 t 37 t 14 t 22 t 32 u 18 u 24 u 32 u 13 v 28 v 34 v 13 v 23 w 38 w 15 w 23 w 33 x 19 x 25 x 33 x 14 y 29 y 35 y 14 y 24 z 39 z 16 z 24 z 34 1st Paragraph 2d Paragraph 3d Paragraph



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   As a Variety of insignificant Figures are interspersed; several of those are put in the Beginning of the Epistles; and among Those is placed one of the essential Elements; which, however, is only to show how to begin the Arrangement of the Numbers for Use.

   The same Thing is sometimes practiced for the different Paragraphs of the same Epistle. The insignificant Figures are chiefly between the Words tho sometimes between Syllables and particularly to divide what are termed the double Letters.

   Specimen of Balfour's

    91.45.31.60.37.14.13.73.13.27.22.16.17.37.75.38.24.15.95.15.63

    t h e e s c o r t w i l l further Specimen of Balfour's

   All the 93.16.23.85.90.23.24.80.22.13.17.27.80 are sent now & the

    o f f i c e r s

    remainder shall come 38.14.13.35.71.

    w h e n



Note: RC and enclosure (MiU-C: Greene Papers). Both in the hand of James Lovell.

1 Apparently letters from Lord Cornwallis to Nesbit Balfour and James Wemyss of October 7, 1780, for which see Lovell to Greene, September 28, 1781, note 1.



2 That is, intercepted letters from Nesbit Balfour and James Craig which Greene had enclosed in an August 25 dispatch to Congress, for which see his enclosure to this letter; and James M. Varnum to Greene, September 17, 1781, note 1.



3 These undated cipher letters are in PCC, item 51, 1:717-32. The decoded texts of them that Lovell sent with this letter are in the Nathanael Greene Papers, MiU-C.



4 These letters from Balfour and Craig, along with a page of Lovell's notes concerning the latter, are in PCC, item 51, 1:703-16, 733-36, 759.