Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-03-21
A CIPHER DISPATCH.
Ii was Harmless. hut 1t Greatly Excited the
Great War Secretary.

A CIPHER DISPATCH.
1t Wss harmless, but II Greatly Excited the
Great War Secretary.
HE return Of Gen. Robert Williams, assist
ans ad1utant general, TO duty at the War De-
partment, after many years absence. recalls an
old wartime story in which he was factor.
In the days before the war Gen. Rufus ingalls,
was qnartermaster at Portland, Ore. and one
OF his closest friends was James Nesmith, an
already prominent lawyer there.
The war came on and in the mutations Of
time Oregon had become state. with Mes
NTH ss one Of it's Senators, and Ingalls, had been
transferred to Washington for duty. Both were
bachelors and jolly good fellows. fond of Jolly
companionship, and so they jointly took one Of
those old-fashioned brick dwellings that then
stood on Pennsylvanis avenue just at the foot
OF the Chem 10Th street hill
There they kept open house, and the break
lasts, dinners and suppers given by the firm OF
Nesmifh and Ingalls, were famous all over WASH
ington and down into the Army of the
Potomac.
When Gen. Ingalls, became chief quarter.
master OF the Army Of the Potomac the house
keeping was not broken up. for his duties
brought him frequently here, and such visits
1t has been limited, were enlivened at times BY
gently exhilarating game Of draw poker-for
beans.
senator Nesmith WAS a democrat of the
douglas stripe and q thorough Union man. He
was intensely interested in the progress of the
war and was never tired of hearing Gen. In
gals tell OF operations in the field, marches,
campaigns and battles. Finally he asked In
gals to telegraph him the next time a battle
was coming, for he ardently desired to witness
one. ingalls, agreed.
In those dark days of the war Mr. Stanton
was the one autocrat here who was feared by
every one; not even Mr.. Stewards little bell''
was SO dreaded as one of his order. Every
telegraph wire from 1.-The front" led into the
old War Department building, where a corps of
telegraph operators was kept on duty day and
night, and every dispatch that came or was
sent WIS submitted to the personal inspection
OF the Secretary of War or Gen. Pelouze his
military secretary. No officer at the front
could even telegraph his wife about a sick
child without the message being submitted to
MIR. stanton to see if some news of army move.
ments was not concealed between the lines.
One Gay IN 1868 a message came flashing it's
dots and dashes into the operators room in the
war Department. 1t came from headquarters
OF the Army OF the Potomac and was addressed to
Hon. James Nesmith, Senator from Oregon,
washington" Then followed lot Of unde-
clpherable words, and the dispatch was duly
signed lngalls, chief quartermaster."
Inc chief operator at once rushed to Secre-
1t was in cipher. Mr.. Stanton saw that the
message was unintelligible, but, noting the
names OF sender and receiver, and also knowing
that an important movement of the army was
TO be made in very short time. jumped at
once ut conclusion, thus: Nesmith, being a
democratic Senator, was, Of course, a traitor to
the Union. Ingalls,, being at headquarters Of
the army, could communicate dangerous in
formation, and here it was.
But it was in a strange cipher-agreed upon,
no doubt. They had men there i'll those days
that could discount the cryptogram business if
a confederate spy was caught. but they couldn't
make head or tail of this wire message from
Gen. Ingalls, to his chum, Senator Nesmith.
Mr.. Stanton went wild with wrath Ingalls,
was traitor. He would have a summary court
martial upon him at once, and have him shot
before twenty-four hours passed by. 1t is I'M
necessary to delineate Mr.. Stanton's remarks, for
history has told that when he got into one of his
famous tantrums the language he used was ut
terly unfit for publication in q family news
paper. He said that Ingalls, was giving private
advices that might reach the enemy through
that democratic senatorial friend of his, or else
it was u scheme between the chief quartermas-
ter AMI the Senator to bet gold in Wall
street. Oh , he knew all about the rendezvous
mere where ingalls, stayed, and he had sus-
pected him long time This much-but there
was more of it.
Officer after officer sent for. but none
could interpret the strange cipher, until at last
there was at least a dozen in the room, and the
Secretary still raging for ingalls, immediate
military death.
Just AS the storm was at its height Gen. Bob
Williams Che was u ma Or them appeared with
a bunch of papers to be signed and looked
bit astonshed at the commotion. Quietly to a
brother. officer he inquired what all the row
was about.
up to him with the fatal telegram in his hand
and asked excitedly: