This cryptograph was invented by Decius Wadsworth in 1817 and was submitted to Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin and manufacturer of small arms for the U. S. Army, for examination. It is not known whether the device was ever used or whether more than one model was ever made.

Decius Wadsworth (January 2, 1768 – November 8, 1821) was a Colonel in the U.S. Army before and during the War of 1812. He graduated from Yale University in 1785 with Honors. He was a renowned military organizer, engineer and inventor. In 1812, he was selected to be the 1st Chief of Ordnance for the new U.S. Army Ordnance Department.

In 1794, Decius Wadsworth was appointed by President George Washington as a captain in the Artillerist and Engineer Corps. He served was promoted to major in January 1800, supervised the rebuilding of Fort Nelson in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1802, and served as acting Superintendent of the Military Academy from 1803 until 1805, when he resigned.

Just prior to the War of 1812, Wadsworth was invited to lead the newly established U.S. Army Ordnance Department and he was appointed as the first Commissary General of Ordnance (later renamed to Chief of Ordnance). His department was charged with the procurement, supply, and maintenance of all cannon, small arms, powder, ball, shot, and other related items for the army. He drew up a set of regulations to ensure a system of uniformity in the armories and in the manufacture of ordnance material. He standardized small arms in the service and accomplished inventories of materiel at posts and forts around the country.

Wadsworth supervised the ordnance establishment across the country (including Springfield and Harpers Ferry Armory), established arsenals on the Hudson River (Watervliet Arsenal) and Pittsburgh (Allegheny Arsenal) in support of the war, made efforts to standardize weapons, particularly artillery, and in 1813, undertook efforts to improve the coastal defenses of the Chesapeake Bay. Wadsworth stressed the importance of uniformity and simplicity. Despite bureaucratic obstacles, he and his staff managed to streamline the number and variety of small arms and heavy ordnance. He led a failed campaign to adopt an artillery carriage based on a British design.

Colonel Wadsworth served as the Chief of Ordnance until June 1, 1821, at which time he left the service due to illness. He died in New Haven, Connecticut.

Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decius_Wadsworth on December 7, 2021