The cache is NOT hidden at the above
coordinates. Those will get you to the soldier's stone. Follow
"marching orders" to get you to the letterbox hybrid location in
the cemetery. (Pace lengths may vary for each individual
searcher.)
You may be
standing at a marker for me, but don't look for me here. My
grieving family placed this stone to have a place to visit, but my
body lies far south near a place called Pittsburg
Landing.
I was only
seventeen. Many men from this area, some old, some young, some
still boys, joined up in the Wisconsin 16th to fight for the
preservation of the Union. We trained at Camp Randall, then headed
off to war.
It was early April
in 1862 with spring and the smell of peach blossoms in the air. We
were camped in Fraley's Field, when, in the gray light of dawn, we
were caught off guard. As I carried the colors, I was one of the
first to fall. Others took up positions, others also fell. Men I
knew, from Richfield and Monroe, from Coloma and Westfield, many
others from Strongs Prairie--dead, wounded, now battle
tested.
The battle went on
and more were fought. Another three years would pass before the War
of the Rebellion ended. I never returned to my family. My mother
grieved, but she had lost children before me and would lose
children after me. All that remain are stones to say we once walked
the earth.
But don't
look for me here, for I was lost at Shiloh.
About face. Walk northwest until you
find the stone of an earlier veteran, that of Ebenezer Morse, who
fought in the War of 1812. Face the front of his stone, side step
left three. Walk sixty paces forward. Right face. Walk fifty paces
forward. Left face. Walk twenty paces forward. Right face. Eyes
ahead.
This cache is located in a cemetery, so be respectful of the
location and your surroundings. It is not necessary to come in
contact with any of the stones to find this cache. If a service is
in progress or friends and family are visiting loved ones buried
here, respect their privacy and come back at a later time.
Thank you to the Adams County Historical Society and their
cemetery tours for inspiration and information.
To see more images related to this cache, click on the the
gallery below and visit this
link:
Shiloh Cemetery There is also a virtual cache in Strongs
Prairie Cemetery (GC8333), and there is a traditional cache nearby
(GC8331). This cache is findable in the winter, but the road may
not be plowed and can get pretty bad. Also, even if this is a
cemetery, there may be hunters in the area, so do not search for
this during gun deer season, or wear blaze orange if you do.