THE CULPER SPY RING
During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington ordered Major Benjamin Tallmadge to organize a group of spies to gather information about British army movements and military attack plans. Informants used fake names and developed a numerical code book consisting of more than 700 numbers that represented words, names and places. These numbers were disguised and hidden in what appeared to be family correspondence. Techniques such as heat-activated ink (milk, urine) were even used to hide the writings.
The Culper Code book included the following codes:
| 1 | a |
| 2 | an |
| 3 | all |
| 4 | at |
| 5 | and |
| 6 | art |
| 7 | arms |
| 8 | about |
| 9 | above |
| 10 | absent |
| 11 | absurd |
| 12 | adorn |
| 13 | adopt |
| 14 | adore |
| 15 | advise |
| 16 | adjust |
| 17 | adjourn |
| 18 | afford |
| 19 | affront |
| 20 | affair |
| 21 | again |
| 22 | april |
| 23 | agent |
| 24 | alter |
| 25 | ally |
| 26 | any |
| 27 | appear |
| 28 | appoint |
| 29 | august |
| 30 | approve |
| 31 | arrest |
| 32 | arraign |
| 33 | amuse |
| 34 | assign |
| 35 | assume |
| 36 | attempt |
| 37 | attone |
| 38 | attack |
| 39 | alarm |
| 40 | action |
| 41 | accomplish |
| 42 | apprehend |
| 43 | abatis |
| 44 | accommodate |
| 45 | alternative |
| 46 | artillery |
| 47 | ammunition |
| 48 | be |
| 49 | bay |
| 50 | by |
| 275 | hurrican |
| 276 | hyprocrite |
| 280 | I |
| 281 | if |
| 282 | in |
| 283 | is |
| 284 | it |
| 285 | ice |
| 286 | ink |
| 287 | into |
| 288 | instance |
| 289 | island |
| 290 | impress |
| 291 | improve |
| 292 | incamp |
| 293 | incur |
| 294 | infest |
| 295 | inforce |
| 296 | instance |
| 297 | inshare |
| 298 | instruct |
| 299 | intrigue |
| 300 | intrust |
| 570 | resign |
| 571 | ratify |
| 572 | recompence |
| 573 | regular |
| 574 | regulate |
| 575 | rigorous |
| 576 | recital |
| 577 | recover |
| 578 | remember |
| 579 | remittance |
| 580 | represent |
| 581 | rebellion |
| 582 | reduction |
| 583 | remarkable |
| 584 | reinforcement |
| 585 | refugee |
| 586 | sail |
| 587 | see |
| 588 | sea |
| 589 | scheme |
| 590 | set |
| 591 | send |
| 592 | ship |
| 593 | safe |
| 594 | same |
| 595 | sky |
| 596 | secret |
| 597 | seldom |
| 598 | sentence |
| 599 | servant |
| 600 | signal |
Numbers
| e | 1 |
| f | 2 |
| g | 3 |
| i | 4 |
| k | 5 |
| m | 6 |
| n | 7 |
| o | 8 |
| q | 9 |
| u | 0 |
For more information about the Culper’s Spy Ring and the complete Code Book, CLICK HERE.