“I am deeply embarrassed to lose our nation’s capital to the British so easily.  Fortunately, my wife Dolley was quick-witted enough to save the portrait of George Washington before the British burned down the Executive Mansion.  We discovered this cipher on the back of the portrait and have yet to determine its meaning.  I only recognize the symbol for the Freemasons of which I know George Washington was a high ranking member. What secrets could have been so important that it was kept on the back of this portrait? I must determine its meaning.

-James Madison 1814″