Welcome to Livingston County’s Bicentennial GeoTrail!
My name is Find R. Fox. I’ll be your guide to super-sleuthing the hides at these amazing, historical locations all around our beautiful 200-year-old county!
To make your travel through history a bit easier, imagine yourself in a Time Machine (your best mode of transportation will do). Set the dial (your gps unit) to the first year (coordinates) listed below, check the waypoints for Parking and push the navigate button! Whirl your way there then switch your coordinates as needed to navigate to the geocache to sniff out the container and sign the log sheet. Good Luck & Enjoy the journey!!
There is no fee to enter the Parade Ground Entrance to Letchworth State Park. Hours are listed as 6 AM - 11 PM daily, unless you are camping at the park.
NOTE: You will need to project a waypoint for this one. If you don't already know how to do it on your GPS device, please visit https://www.geocachingtoolbox.com/
The 1st New York Dragoons Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Organized at Portage, Livingston County, the regiment was originally mustered into service as the 130th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. It was converted to cavalry on July 28, 1863, and designated as the 19th Regiment New York Volunteer Cavalry.
The men were recruited from Allegany, Livingston, and Wyoming counties. The 19th Cavalry was officially re-designated as the 1st Regiment of Dragoons on September 10, 1863. The name dragoon reputedly derives from a type of firearm, called a dragon, which was a handgun version of a blunderbuss, carried by dragoons of the French Army.
Originally assigned to the Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac, the Dragoons moved to the Army of the Shenandoah with General Philip Sheridan.
During its service, the 1st New York Dragoons fought in 64 battles, captured 19 pieces of artillery and 4 Confederate battle flags. Three men in the Dragoons received Medals of Honor, all of whom had ties to Livingston County. After marching in the Grand Review at Washington, D.C., at the close of the Civil War, the Dragoons were mustered out of service at Cloud’s Mills, Virginia, on June 30th, 1865.
Born in Nunda, Chester Bennett Bowen, (April 1st, 1842 – March 16th, 1905) was a Corporal in Company I of the 1st NY Dragoons. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Battle of Opequon, more commonly called the Third Battle of Winchester, Virginia, on September 19th, 1864.
Born in Dansville, Andrew J. Lorish (November 8th, 1832–August 11th, 1897) was a Commissary Sergeant in the Union Army and a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions in the American Civil War. Lorish joined the 1st New York Dragoons from Attica, New York, in August 1862. He was promoted to regimental sergeant major the next month but demoted to private before the end of the year. In October 1863, he became the regimental commissary sergeant. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in May 1865 and mustered out with his regiment in June.
The flag that was captured by Bowen and Lorish was a CSA 2nd national flag belonging to an unidentified unit in Col. George S. Patton's Virginia Infantry Brigade. Amid the enemy, Bowen grabbed the flag from a color bearer who then called for help. When the bearer's comrades were readying their rifles Lorish dashed directly at them securing their disarming. As Bowen and Lorish rode away, the Confederates picked up their guns firing at the captors of their flag. The flag is now in the possession of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.
William Wirt Winegar (1844 – 1916) enlisted in the Army from Mount Morris, New York in August 1862. He was commissioned as an officer in November 1864 and mustered out with his regiment in June 1865. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Battle of Five Forks fought on April 1st, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia. The battle was part of the Appomattox Campaign and was a victory for Union forces under Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan over Confederate Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett. While advancing in front of his company and alone, First Lieutenant Winegar found himself surrounded by the enemy. He accosted a nearby enemy flag-bearer demanding the surrender of the group. His effective firing of one shot so demoralized the unit that it surrendered with flag.
Thanks to Letchworth State Park for allowing placement of this cache! LSP Permit#128, expiration 8/24/27.
Let's pretend you are a Volunteer for this army! Tether your mount to the nearby post (park your car in nearby parking) and report to Colonel James Wood (nearby boulder)! Today, we would like you to learn to project a waypoint so you could fire a cannon (not really firing a cannon), but first, gather your bearing and distance! (Yes, there USED to be a cannon near the listing coordinates, but sadly it has been removed. Yes, I know that dragoons were light cavalry and therefore unlikely to fire a cannon. Please play along.)
Bearing = DRA degrees
Distance = GON feet
Where D = 1st digit of DIV. CORPS
Where R = Battle flags captured
Where A = last digit in pieces of artillery captured
Where G = number of month organized plus 2nd digit of day organized
Where O = sum of digits of captured animals of draught
Where N = number of letters in Major's last name
Project your bearing and distance from the cache listing (near the brown historic marker, next to which had been a cannon). Final is within .30 miles and is within the park.
NOTE: You do NOT need to stand in the cache listing spot to project the coordinates.
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.
This cache is 1 of 36 caches comprising the Livingston County Bicentennial GeoTrail (LivCo200) placed in the summer of 2021 in honor of Livingston County’s Bicentennial by members of the local geocaching group called the Bee Hive. For more information about Livingston County’s Bicentennial, visit the County Historian’s Bicentennial web page on the Livingston County New York website at https://www.livingstoncounty.us/1115/County-Bicentennial
