47. Cranbury Encampment and Cemetery Multi-Cache

This field puzzle cache is located at the historic cemetery where you will look up the location key at the entrance to find these patriots and answer the questions to find the coords to the final cache location.

On June 19, 1778, George Washington's army left their famous Valley Forge encampment after spending the previous six months there. They made their way across New Jersey through Lambertville, Mount Airy, Hopewell and Kingston. They were in pursuit of British forces who had evacuated Philadelphia the day before, and who were marching across New Jersey to New York.

On June 26, 1778, Washington and his army arrived in Cranbury. On that day, General Washington met with Colonel Alexander Hamilton and General Lafayette at the house of Dr. Hezekiah Stites. (See next entry). Two days later, they fought the Battle of Monmouth. A plaque in a field overlooking Brainerd Lake commemorates the encampment of Washington and the troops in Cranbury.

Washington wrote to Congress several days after the Battle of Monmouth. In the following excerpt from that letter, Washington gave some details about the encampment in Cranbury, which he spells as "Cranberry" :

"In the evening of [June 25, 1778] the whole army marched from Kingston, where our baggage was left, with intention to preserve a proper distance for supporting the advanced corps, and arrived at Cranberry early the next morning. The intense heat of the weather, and a heavy storm unluckily coming on, made it impossible to resume our march that day without great inconvenience and injury to the troops. Our advanced corps, being differently circumstanced, moved from the position it had held the night before, and took post in the evening on the Monmouth road about five miles from the enemy's rear, in expectation of attacking them next morning on their march. The main body having remained at Cranberry, the advanced corps was found to be too remote, and too far upon the right, to be supported in case of an attack either upon or from the enemy; which induced me to send orders to the Marquis [de Lafayette] to file off by his left towards Englishtown, which he accordingly executed early in the morning of the 27th."

The First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury was erected in 1740, south of the brook, on the west side of the road, on the highest point of land in the old cemetery. The village had become a central point in the settlements because of the busy public highway, called King George's Road, which was a post road between New York and Philadelphia in colonial times with many patriots may have worshipped here. The eighty revolutionary war soldiers buried in Brainerd cemetery behind the Church were certainly among those heroes.

To solve the coordinates, locate the plaque at The Cemetery Entrance. The reverse side is the "Grave locations Key" Use the Key to find the Graves and information needed to locate the final cache.

Locate these following American Revolution Patriots headstones using the Row/Stone Key:

A = Nathaniel Hunt: 1st wife Name Jane = (3) Betsy = (4) Hannah = (5)

B = Hezekiah Stites Plaques last word? Patriot = (07) Revolution = (09) Doctor = (08)

C = Charley Barclay's Rank? LT. = (3) Pvt = (1) Col = (2)

D = Joseph Dey's Rank? Lt = (79) Capt = (89) Pvt = (99)

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.