01 The letter
| Shelfmark | BnF NAF 11355 · Emperor–Empress code |
|---|---|
| Sender | Napoleon III / Empress Eugénie (both directions) |
| Recipient | Empress Eugénie / Napoleon III (both directions) |
| Date | June 1859 |
| Language | French |
| Report status | 15/15 pages transcribed; 9/11 cipher pages deciphered; 2 more in part |
| Ciphertext | 440 elements, 370 identified (84.1%); 4 assumed readings; 50 ? |
02 The key
233 codes, 12 letter signs, 220 in nomenclature, 1 separator The key was recovered from the ciphertext alone.
03 The decipherment
f19r — the Pope and diplomacy
Je suis bien peiné au milieu de mes travaux d’avoir à répondre à toutes les sotte[s] suppositions de la diplomatie. Je maintiens le pape à Rome avec mon armée. Je ne me mêle en rien du reste de ses États.
Translation. I am very distressed, amid my work, to have to answer all the foolish suppositions of diplomacy. I keep the Pope in Rome with my army. I do not interfere in any way with the rest of his States.
f35r — the battle and the Austrian emperor’s room
Impossible de donner des détails sur la bataille d’hier. Tout [le] monde était mort de fatigue. L’ennemi s’est retiré cette nuit. J’ignore le nombre précis de canons, de drapeaux et de prisonniers. J’ai couché cette nuit dans la chambre où l’Empereur d’Autriche a déjeuné hier matin. Niel est nommé Maréchal. La bataille prendra le nom de Solférino.
Translation. It is impossible to give details of yesterday’s battle. Everyone was dead tired; the enemy withdrew during the night. I do not know the exact number of cannon, flags and prisoners. I slept last night in the room where the Emperor of Austria had breakfast yesterday morning. Niel has been appointed Marshal. The battle will be named Solferino.
f27r — Eugénie’s message
Je suis désolée de vous avoir fait de la peine, ce n’était? pas mon intention. Ne vous inquiétez pas du petit, il va à merveille. J’écris aujourd’hui par la poste.
Translation. I am sorry to have caused you sorrow; that was not? my intention. Do not worry about the little one; he is doing wonderfully. I am writing today by post.
04 Plaintext and other sources
Where a decipherment or clear copy already existed, as George Lasry gives it:
- Literal plaintext
- f35r: L’ennemi s’est retiré cette nuit. — One ciphered sentence only; fatigue passage not printed. · L’Écho saumurois, 28 June 1859, p. 1
05 Our check
This result is George Lasry’s. This project did not re-solve the cipher: it checked one sample against the Gallica image and recorded what it found.
- Batch A. Image checked: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b52517729k/f67.item
- Folio matches the report: yes; cipher present: yes
- What we checked: f32r = Solferino telegram "Cavriana 24 juin 1859, Empereur a Imperatrice", clear text + code "941 325 274 1155 / 163 1142 1162"; his key gives 274=connais, 163=ble, 1142=s (fragmentary, no excerpt covers this run); f19r/f35r excerpts not image-checked
- Verdict: partly confirmed (method key recovered from ciphertext-only, extent partial). The check is a sample, not a re-solution.
- Notes: 84.1% identified, 50 ?; 2 cipher pages only in part. Telegrams of 1859 were partly printed in the press (he cites L Echo saumurois 28 June 1859) - external plaintext available for f35r.
06 Sources
- George Lasry, with ChatGPT Astra 6 and Anthropic Opus 5.5, BnF cipher research, 10 October 2026 (sent to Daniel Bourdeau on 13 October 2026 for publication here), p. 26; his other items are listed on his contributor card.
- The working folder:
targets/eugenie1859/(his entry as extracted from the report, our spot-check,profile.json).