22. Old Tennent Church ~ Battle at Monmouth Mystery Cache

Old Tennent church became a significant part of the Revolutionary War during the Battle at Monmouth.  The building was used as a field hospital for the Continentals during that battle, and the battle raged not more than 500 yards to the east of the church. 

This battle was a pivotal and extremely important victory not just for the Continentals, but was significant for the entire colonies and the morale of the Continental Soldiers.

The Old Tennent Church has a long and rich history. Built in 1751, it was already twenty-seven years old when the Battle of Monmouth occurred. The church was hit by cannon balls during the battle. Afterward, it was used as a hospital for wounded American soldiers. These events left physical evidence on the church building and grounds.  Much of the damage has been repaired over the years for preservation of the building. Some of the pews still bear the marks of surgeon's saws and blood from when the building was used as a hospital.

The Tennant Church's cemetery contains the graves of over seventy "known" Revolutionary War veterans, as well as a "common grave" of American soldiers who died at the Battle of Monmouth. The number and identities of the men buried in the common grave are unknown. 

There is the grave of Nathaniel Scudder, who in addition to serving as a colonel in the New Jersey militia also played an important political role during the Revolutionary War era. He served in the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, as the speaker of the New Jersey general assembly and the in the Continental Congress. He was one of two New Jersey signers of the Articles of Confederation. (The other signer was John Witherspoon) 

Also is a gravestone of Captain Joshua Huddy. See Cache Page GC8F554 for the account of Huddy's interesting story, which includes his capture, escape, recapture and eventual hanging by the British, The headstone is there to Huddy's memory next to the church, although the exact location where he is buried in the graveyard is unknown.

The are also British soldiers buried in the cemetery, including Lt. Colonel Henry Monckton, who was the highest ranking British officer killed during the Battle of Monmouth.

The field puzzle will have you explore the historic church graveyard for two answers, then a short hike into the nearby Monmouth Battlefield where the battle took place to locate a State Park Plaque for the other two answers. The final ammo box cache is then nearby.

A = Nearby the row of a forementioned 5 headstones, search for Patriot Michael Erickson's Headstone."What year did he die?"

1779 = (3) 1800 = (6) 1815 = (9)

B = Continue to walk around towards the side of the Church and Search for "Moses Laird" Head and foot stones. He was Washington's guide in the Battle of Monmouth. " ?

In 1778 Moses was also a?

Merchant = (47) Signer = (56) Preacher = (67)

Locate the "Mr. Tennant Meeting House" plaque at the top of the hill. See waypoint

C = Militia man Andrew Bray told his story he remembered...

how many years later? 20 = (2) 30 = (3) 50 = (4)

D = "What is the rank of Joseph Martin who helped carry wounded?

Private = (52) LT. = (57) Sargent = (60)

This cache is one of "The American Revolution Geo~Trail" caches throughout New Jersey. These special geocaches are hidden at historic locations which have a connection to important New Jersey's American Revolutionary War history. To participate in the optional Geo-Trail, after you find the geocache, locate the secret code and record it into your passport which you will print from the Geo~Trail website. Information at njpatriots.org

The Northern New Jersey Cachers, NNJC is about promoting a quality caching experience in New Jersey. For information on The Northern New Jersey Cachers group you can visit: www.nnjc.org.