Welcome to Atlantic Canada’s Hidden Histories (ACHH) Geotour!
You’ve located a stop in the ACHH Geotour, which as of Feb.10, 2024 consists of 35 geocaches divided into two phases and located in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Initially launched in July of 2022, this Geotour aims to highlight various diverse and sometimes relatively unknown histories in Atlantic Canada. It will continue to grow. The first 2 phases of the tour highlight Black History in Atlantic Canada. In Phase 1 there are two segments with six locations in New Brunswick, and ten locations in Nova Scotia. Each of these segments has their own geocoin and passport, the link for which is provided in relevant cache descriptions. Caches in Phase 1 start with ACHH: in their name. Caches in Phase 2 start with ACHH2: in their name. This cache is part of Phase 2 and was placed in celebration of Black History Month 2024. A map and the complete list of geocaches can be found here.
About this Location
Pleasant Valley...42nd Highlands Memorial Cemetery
The Black Watch and the Black Loyalists
This site is the final resting place of a number of the 42 Royal Highland Regiment veterans of the American Revolution. The reference to Highlanders conjures images of the Scottish uplands and kilted warriors. But the history of this Highland regiment intertwines with the story of Black emancipation.
In 1775 the governor of Virginia would make good on his threats to arm Blacks who joined his forces to form the Ethiopian Regiment which would act as an irregular force of marines aboard a small flotilla in the Chesapeake Bay. The governor’s name was Lord Dunmore and his emancipatory declaration bears his name. Though Dunmore’s plan proved ultimately to be a failure, it was mostly due to an outbreak of smallpox against which Blacks were not inoculated. But also, Dunmore cannot claim to have been a military genius, nor overly diplomatic.
The 42nd Highland Regiment has a history preceding the American Revolution and in 1775 were deployed to America. Though many were captured in the confusion of the surrender of Boston, the transport Oxford escaped and the Highlanders aboard tried to join Dunmore in Virginia, but were captured by the Patriots. By 1779, the British were operating from the island fortress of Manhattan and raiding coastal settlements all along the east coast. In April, a British raid involving the Highlanders targeted Chesapeake Bay. As a result, hundreds of self-emancipated Blacks joined the British and would return to New York. From the original Ethiopian troops and these newcomers, several Black companies would be formed. These troops along with the Highlanders would depart New York to take part in the failed Southern Campaign. The Southern Campaign liberated hundreds, if not thousands more Blacks. Some served as auxiliaries with the Highlanders and other troops. Two of these would play a large role in Black society in early Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Both David George (Baptist Minister) and Boston King (Methodist Minister) departed the southern colonies and migrated to Nova Scotia as did many of the veteran Highlanders.
Historians now believe that a shortage of ministers, especially with the dissenting sects like the Baptists and Methodists and also with the Presbyterians, challenged the racial attitudes. They think that preachers like David George traveled in the region preaching to both Black and White audiences, planting the seeds for many Baptist congregations. As we start recognizing these connections both in and beyond the archives, we can reinterpret spaces of commemoration like this cemetery in a much broader way.
***** Congratulations to Ranger170 on the FTF *****