WCG - Rose Hill Cemetery Mystery Cache
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The Washington County GeoTrail
WCG - Rose Hill Cemetery
The Washington County GeoTrail (WCG) launched on Saturday, September 14, 2013. The Trail consists of over thirty-five (35) geocaches placed at points of interest all over the County. Caches will be found in National, State, County and Town parks as well as at museums, wineries, historical sites and places of natural beauty. A trackable geocoin was awarded to the first 500 geocachers who completed the Washington County Geotrail. The original allotment of Coins has been exhausted and new parameters to receive the updated Coin are below.
To be eligible for the coin, GeoCachers may download the Washington County GeoTrail passport online at www.visitHAGERSTOWN.com or pick one up in person at the Visitor Welcome Center at 6 N. Potomac Street. Completed passports may be verified on site at the above address or by mail.
Please note the following Change. Washington County GeoCoins will be available for purchase at the Visitor Welcome Center for GeoCachers who log 20 or more caches on the Washington County GeoTrail. The cost of the GeoCoin will be $10. An additional $3.50 shipping charge will apply for passports redeemed by mail. For more information about geocaching in Washington County and the full complement of local amenities, the above links are your gateway to historically beautiful Washington County!
Participating in the WCG geotrail is fun and we hope that many people join in. However, it is not a requirement for logging your find on this cache once you find the container.
WCG – Rose Hill Cemetery
Founded in 1865, Rose Hill Cemetery was the first place where local residents could be buried regardless of their race or religious preferences. Many who were interred in family or church plots were moved and re-interred at Rose Hill. The names on the gravestones in the cemetery are a ‘who’s who’ of Washington County history. Among the thousands that rest here are senators, congressmen, governors and nearly 2500 Confederate soldiers who were killed at the Battles of Antietam and South Mountain. Rose Hill has thousands of artistic and historic statuary and markers. The “Statue of Hope,” the “Sacred Heart” and a marker for the dog Rollo are several of the many unusual statuary to be found there.
Initially the site was part of a tract of land granted to the Wroe family by the King of England during colonial times and was purchased by Dr. John A. Wroe and his wife. Their home was located on a hill which became known as “Wroes Hill,” but was later changed to “Rose Hill” in 1865 when the cemetery was chartered for public use.
Perhaps most unusual here is Rose Hill’s ‘cemetery within a cemetery'. In the years following the Civil War, veteran and citizens groups urged the re-burial of thousands of Confederates buried in mass graves in southern Washington County and other nearby counties. After the Maryland legislature appropriated funds in 1870, those of West Virginia and Virginia soon followed suit, and a section of Rose Hill in Hagerstown was chosen for the Washington Confederate Cemetery. Among the locals chosen to oversee the project was Henry Kyd Douglas, who served as chief-of-staff to General Stonewall Jackson during the War. Of the more than 2000 buried there, only a small number were ever identified.
Dedication of Cemetery took place on June 12, 1877. Picture this! Nearly 6000 were in attendance. The keynote speaker was Major General Fitzhugh Lee of the Confederate Army. For many years thereafter, Washington Cemetery was the scene of Confederate Memorial Day celebrations. In 1936, services at the site included both Confederate and Union veterans.
Many notables are buried at Rose Hill. One requiring mention is William Othello Wilson. The only Washington County resident ever awarded the Medal of Honor, Wilson was cited in 1890 for ‘gallantry in action’ at the Pine Ridge Indian Agency in South Dakota.
The cache is a two-stage field puzzle. The supplied coordinates will lead you to a plaque which provides information on the Washington Confederate Cemetery, Rose Hill's 'cemetery within a cemetery'. Using information obtained from the plaque you will be able to determine the coordinates for the final stage. Stage Two is within walking distance of Stage One.
To navigate successfully to the final, you will need to solve for "WCG". The coordinates for the final are:
N 39º 37.W60, W 077º 43.4CG W: The plaque indicates the number of soldiers buried here whose identities are known. W = the last digit of this number.
C: The Washington Confederate Cemetery was originally dedicated in 1877. A re-dedication ceremony featuring guest speaker President Dwight D. Eisenhower took place in the year _ _ _ _. C = the last digit of that year.
G: The number of unknown soldiers buried here since 1888, divided by 4 = G.
The Washington County GeoTrail wishes to Thank the Hagerstown Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau for their timely and continuing assistance with this Washington County adventure.
The WCG also wishes to thank the following geocachers who spent countless hours in planning and deploying the caches – ALs Guide, Always Lost 00, Kitakima, LPYankeefan, nomaland, Snurt, tazscouter, and tiger77aam.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
OBKJBBQ FUEHO