I believe that this intelligence has been overtaken by events.
LOL!
Fox News did a little more expansive story than the BBC and included this possible explanation:
“So what about the bullet in the bottom of the bottle?
Wright suspects the messenger was instructed to toss the bottle into the river if Union troops intercepted his passage. The weight of the bullet would have carried the corked bottle to the bottom, she said.
For Pemberton, the bottle is symbolic of his lost cause: The bad news never made it to him.
The Confederate messenger probably arrived to the river’s edge and saw a U.S. flag flying over the city. “He figured out what was going on and said, ‘Well, this is pointless,’ and turned back,” Wright said.”
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/12/25/civil-war-message-opened-decoded-help-coming/#ixzz19KpVHDZv