Confederate Message in a Bottle Deciphered 147 Years Later

The siege at the Battle of Vicksburg, in Mississippi, was a crucial victory for Union forces, and catastrophic defeat for the Confederates. On the day of the battle, one Confederate general sent a coded message in a bottle to Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, who was under siege in Vicksburg. The message was never received, and before this year, it had never been deciphered. Catherine Wright, collections manager at The Museum of the Confederacy, took on the challenge of deciphering the message. Confirmed by two cryptographers, the message reads, in part: ?You can expect no help from this side of the river.?