The Church Cipher

In 1775, an enciphered message was intercepted en route from colonial physician Benjamin Church to a British officer in Boston. Part of the message appears below. What does it say?

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It’s a simple substitution cipher: So this sentence reads, “Should Britain declare War against the Colonies, they are lost forever.” A court of inquiry found that Church had carried on a criminal correspondence with the enemy. He was jailed until 1778, when he sailed from Boston and was never heard from again. (From the National Park Service.)

November 5, 2020November 4, 2020 | History · Puzzles