Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1907-08-01
Cipher pI.pa.ehers Under Lincoln,

Cipher Dispatchers Under Lincoln
Col. and Mrs. A. b. Chandler have had
as guest at Mari-Castle Charles A. Tink-
er OF Brooklyn, \. u, who took his de
parture Tuesday.
Mr.. Tinker, who is native OF Chelsea,
was telegraph operator in Mortified in
the early fitties while the late Col. X. j.
Kimball was his 'next door neighhor,
so to speak, in this village and Colonel
Chandler was taking his first lessons IN
the Morse code Of Colonel kimball. All OF
them were in the employ OF the Yer
mont and Boston Telegraph company, af-
forwards leased TO the Western Union.
During the Civil war, Mr.. Tinker and
Colonel Chandler were selected as the two
most trusted operators in the War office
at Washington when President lincoln
and Secretary Stanton frequently spent
whole nights with them in translatlng
dispatches into cipher for transmission TO
the heads OF the army. In his "History
of the Military Telegraph" William X.
Plum says:-"The cipher system, origi-
mated by Arson Stager and developed
mainly by him, but in no small degree by
others, more particularly I. I. Eckert, A..
B. Chandler, d. Homer Bates and Charles
1 A. Tinker, was eminently successful.
/ Copies of messages quite often reached
the enemy and some were published in
i their newspapers with request for transla-
tion, but all TO no purpose. To this state
ment let us add that neither did any Fed
I eral cipher-operator ever prove recreant
I to his sacred trust, and we have in sem
tence two facts that reflect infinite credit
upon the corps"
David Homer Bates, manager of the
War Department Telegraph Office, has
4 been writing series of articles on the
work of the cipher-operators for the Gem
tury magazine, in whose June number az
peared the portraits of Col. Chandler and
Mr.. Tinker with those of their associates,
Mr.. Bates and A. E. II. johnson, the lat
ter custodian of military kilograms.
Besides handling the messages of the
Federal government, the cipher-operator'
were called upon to work out the ciphel
letters OF the rebels intercepted on thei
way from Richmond to Confederate agent
in Canada, and managed to do it withou
an official key. The translation OF tn
first rebel cipher letter caused the arres
of conspirators in New York, and othe
letters contained equally important infol
nation.
The telegraph Office was favorite RI
treat for President Lincoln from the il
terruptions and functions of the Whit
House and the operators had often til
pleasure of his society in his best an
), happiest moods. 1t was in this offiC
: that he wrote the Emancipation prooli
nation and then, relaxing from the strai
and fatigue of the day, dropped into q
;, anecdote of Pekin, ILL.,, in which
: bothered to recollect name. Mr.. TIM
: er, engaged in translating long ciph
: dispatch from General Grant, who W,
between Memphis and Milliken's Ben
looked up and supplied the forgottt
Is name. Lincoln, surprised, turned to Il
n operator and asked, "Did you know tn
"a man?' Eyes, sir" replied Mr.. Tinke
I, 'down in Pekin when | once had Il
e honor of explaining to the future pres
or dent of the United States the working
y the Morse telegraph in the office of t
le Tazewell House, sWell," exclaim
u. Mr.. Lincoln, "isn't it funny Mr. Tink
IN and should have met way out in IL
Vi nois before the war and now again he
in the War Department Telegraph office
G, He then proceeded to tell how and VIII
sh they had met and that, being at that til
10, specially interested in the Telegram
h which was comparatively new and still
n subject Of wonder to the great MAORI
u of people, he had asked how it work
es and had been given full explanation
ed it's mysteries by Mr.. Tinker.
,ly After the war, both Colonel Chand
nd and Mr.. Tinker continued to devote the
III selves to telegraphy, the former beco
he ing president and manager of the Pos
dy Telegraph and Cable company, and I
nd latter general superintendent of the la
lr- est telegraph company in the world,
re- Western Union.