Eleen R. Gale - Spy for the Confederacy
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This cache is a companion to "Walking the Union Route", also located in Barbousville park. I have been wanting to do a Confederate puzzle cache for some time and I have finally got the concept I want. The coordinates are for the parking area, you can find the cache based upon the information in this listing.
I have chosen to use a typical cipher technique of the Confederacy during the war - the Vigenere cipher. The army typically used an item that consisted of two disks, each with the alphabet inscribed around it in a circular fashion. The smaller inner disk could turn to align the alphabets for encryption and decryption, but you can also use a tableau.
The Vigenere works as follows:
Let's say we want to encode the message "Rally at Vicksburg". We can use a word such as "Victory" as a keyword, or a more random keyword such as CHWDDHHUHBT. For our example, let's use the former. I will go ahead and let you use the latter to decode the first message. From there, you will need to use the clues to decipher the rest and locate the cache.
I use the following tableau to encode/decode:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZA
CDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZAB
DEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABC
EFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCD
FGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDE
GHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEF
HIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFG
IJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH
JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHI
KLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJ
LMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJK
MNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKL
NOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLM
OPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMN
PQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
QRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP
RSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQ
STUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQR
TUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS
UVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST
VWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTU
WXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV
XYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVW
YZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWX
ZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY
VICTORYVICTORYVI
RALLYATVICKSBURG
To encode the fist letter, I check the row R and the column V to get the letter "M". To encode the second letter, I check the row A and the column I to get the letter "I". And so on. The message encrypted would be - MINEMRRQQEDGSSMO
Decryption follows a similar pattern.
Let's say I know the keyword is "Victory" and I receive the message "CQIABFMI". I go to column V and find the letter C in the tableau, the row in which it resides is the plaintext letter - "H". I then go to column I and find the letter Q in the tableau, the row in which it resides is the plaintext letter - "I". I complete the message to get "HIGHNOON"
The advantage of this cipher is its ability to hide double letters, which are a dead giveaway in straight monoalphabetic substitution ciphers. It is also efficient enough to be done fairly quickly by hand. The Union was able to crack many intercepted messages, but cryptanalysis of the Vigenere is rather difficult. On a side note, the Confederates are only known to have used four different keywords for all of their secret correspondence - probably a good reason why they lost the war!
This adventure makes you the recipient of letters from a young female Confederate spy named Eleen R. Gale (inspired by Belle Boyd) as she attempts to infiltrate Union lines and report back. You will also get a glimpse into her personal correspondence, all of which relates to the cache find. I hope as you enjoy the cache you will take the time to remember Eleen. I hope the story enhances your sensory experience of the cache hunt. Most of all, I hope you have a blessed and safe hunt. :)
The First Key is A Free Key: CHWDDHHUHBT
Of Zhdy Tiaixt,
Iu wrtvlypp K deoo il cu Cttikxuzccsmx, XH, wqg dpfs bmvlisw av xptvgyj wkl wizjmkvj ri aoy Bobqu purvwm how tlhdb aoua jghvnpdapiu cter pr Jluyybe Dvhlyhy. Ca jl dlwxwpmos ixtl
eq Ehyvvvkuceool -- Iyojgf ta, erfz uyf inhulqn abl ctv-hjg-ehsf nbfg P kiwlu mlf mjl xrbz wfhz tv okph. P ki ffttu bru ovgl! Jm kz w vkhty, aihwnd, wkha Vpmea Fwqn ohm
ltmcihlvolx ojfulhi lu h jsbvg ddhul zi tbga vb pb mvhkflv taprypyz xxtl idgl. P mbqiqza L vohfs ibfl burt abl Vgkvj lq aoua qecja zklyy P ibf mnrp fvo vo hwy hdva wcjobe adhul.
Dblo B pltw zypnl, xx uowoo kpmjvlu Iwowptiyf tv saqjao.
Ouubn adhq,
Lsylo
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Message #2
Ny Oxid Uvrm Bzeqhoi,
Xie qttes geqecl gaii qfn rtdq av afrp xvaixl uo rxb ys zruo eam mfve. J clg aqs klf Uybwz prroec t tuhkpf lpla fvrr b ffktaixl xedm jk bfvuh zy uk dfwjtthv mbu aiae txbsrvt tz
um m qfppnpe etc zw doxfizrzrh a cxouavru fchu twj lprdx. Mhse xiofzp ym yibre kiosj eu tsx kxcjioedl wr hyi fnpfg, U rvpjgsm qz hyi seohtqbti pf eam tceizsfvsxs. Jlpuww gai
vzfr nhuq hymt wlr qf kzpm spkdq oj e tawom fc klf spgaqg rw jt unaf rfit czomd hyi pdzk wr hyi twlfx nm nljcs B nubu qzspen twumog. T lpmzc vfmlbv tsii b wsbtq zfrhec, iiegzrh
tsx buav ajts tkfwmmuipl agqy et sppqzu, iibdtgo, mbu eoarkiyg. Z hp sz ewhs rrbgctue!
Mfyss ekcxm,
Vpfey K. Omzv
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Message #3
Ssglvr,
L Wmiaxrrrne zj xni eixixprx O ez ssspczmtk zep bp zr xu qr. Hriwj rsc, lr mestdxw ur xrfwtyk qe thvgodp jsx frmeg ty Fexfbyisgtppk eah, docp wtkgvjzclwpc, sc eirszy jsx wb swt mpmrm ma wzgse sj nmf tcaezsr. O avpc npph xu ifgrpp elmy tyete. Te mw, nsjimec, aswymopv tslx xnmf qry mp xlk pnwk plcx sl qr xyae jsy mig xf hzwh. Wnshpu tslx fk xui tadp, erj ms imec jsy biaxlrp es Fgvoslrdgmpri nru wzyhix auiie T rezk xui cade jyrp zirsfci sl hrzfttzr xu xui Toyqihkvngp, I slzi vpnrkeo l wqgpy wrpwtrk niei. Z ax dyvk cby niww oru
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Znqr lbh ybbx! Znqr lbh ybbx! un un un un (abg n erny uvag)