MOUNT VERNON – Ever wonder how Civil War spies passed along information on the actions and plans of the enemy? The South used what is called Vigenere Cipher. An example is shown below:
To send a message in the cipher, you write the letters of the key word under the letters of the message, repeated as many times as necessary, to the end of the sentence. A new sentence repeats the process. If the message is “The North will attack. Send help.” and the key word is “Greenhow,” this would appear as:
The North will attack. Send help.
Gre enhow Gree nhowGr Gree nhow
On Thursday, August 29 the Chautauqua Series invites southern spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow (portrayed by Raylene Hlavaty) to discuss her life and perils during the Civil War and she will explain how she used the cipher system to get her messages to the Confederate government and the audience will receive a handout so you can learn how they were used.
Raylene has presented several characters over the years including Beatrix Potter, Abigail Adams and Katarina Luther, wife of Martin Luther. Raylene spends up to a year preparing her characters and the audience is in store for a wonderful evening of entertainment, education and fellowship.
Opening the program will be Steve Ball, playing and explaining music of the Civil War, performed on authentic instruments of the era.
The Chautauqua Series is held in the lower level conference room at the Grand Hotel (12 Public Square, Mount Vernon).The facility is accessible to those with special needs such as walkers, wheel chairs, service dogs and strollers. Doors open at 6 PM and program starts with Steve Ball at 7 PM with Rose O’Neal Greenhow at 7:45 PM, with a Q&A with the audience immediately after her presentation.
This living history series is organized by Elixir Presents with the assistance of the Grand Hotel and supported in part by a generous grant from the Ariel Foundation. These programs bring year round entertaining historical programming to our community and presented on a donation basis. All donations go directly to the performers.
For more information about this and upcoming presentations, please visit www.elixirpresents.com, www.VisitKnoxOhio.org or call 740-392-3018. To receive a “Gentle Reminder” email on the Sunday before each program, contact Mike Petee at elixir_petee@hotmail.com.
To send a message in the cipher, you write the letters of the key word under the letters of the message, repeated as many times as necessary, to the end of the sentence. A new sentence repeats the process. If the message is “The North will attack. Send help.” and the key word is “Greenhow,” this would appear as:
The North will attack. Send help.
Gre enhow Gree nhowGr Gree nhow
On Thursday, August 29 the Chautauqua Series invites southern spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow (portrayed by Raylene Hlavaty) to discuss her life and perils during the Civil War and she will explain how she used the cipher system to get her messages to the Confederate government and the audience will receive a handout so you can learn how they were used.
Raylene has presented several characters over the years including Beatrix Potter, Abigail Adams and Katarina Luther, wife of Martin Luther. Raylene spends up to a year preparing her characters and the audience is in store for a wonderful evening of entertainment, education and fellowship.
Opening the program will be Steve Ball, playing and explaining music of the Civil War, performed on authentic instruments of the era.
The Chautauqua Series is held in the lower level conference room at the Grand Hotel (12 Public Square, Mount Vernon).The facility is accessible to those with special needs such as walkers, wheel chairs, service dogs and strollers. Doors open at 6 PM and program starts with Steve Ball at 7 PM with Rose O’Neal Greenhow at 7:45 PM, with a Q&A with the audience immediately after her presentation.
This living history series is organized by Elixir Presents with the assistance of the Grand Hotel and supported in part by a generous grant from the Ariel Foundation. These programs bring year round entertaining historical programming to our community and presented on a donation basis. All donations go directly to the performers.
For more information about this and upcoming presentations, please visit www.elixirpresents.com, www.VisitKnoxOhio.org or call 740-392-3018. To receive a “Gentle Reminder” email on the Sunday before each program, contact Mike Petee at elixir_petee@hotmail.com.
RSS Feed