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General Sir David Baird Multi-Cache

Hidden : 2/4/2006
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

Multi cache starting at the monument raised in honour of General Sir David Baird. There is an uphill walk to monument along a well defined path.

The Man - The Soldier

Born 1759, second son of Sir William Baird who was the 3rd Baronet of Saughton he entered the army in 1772 and served under Sir Arthur Wellesley who later became the Duke of Wellington.

During his time fighting in India he became one of the captives and spent 4 years in captivity as a P.O.W. in Mysore, but in (Date shown on Monument).after leading the storming of Seringapatam, the Tippu Sultan's island capital, he apparently discovered the body of the Tippu Sultan, The Tiger Of Mysore, This was the last of the organised opposition to the British in India.

He is accredited with:

The storming of Seringapatam (Date shown on Monument).

The forced march of the Anglo-Indian Army across the great desert from Kossier to Alexandria in 1801.

The Capture of the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch on 8th Jan 1806.

In 1808 he joined Sir John Moore at Corunna where he lost an arm in battle. After Moore's death he assumed the chief command, Corunna apparently was his last active command.
After leaving the army he seems to have settled in Crieff making his home at the Mansion House which is now a ruin on what is now the local golf course.
In the drawing room at the Hydro Hotel at Crieff was a painting of the man.
One Baird Legend that is told - the Earl of Aberdeen purchased the estate of Auchmeddan (a Baird Estate), after which, as prophesised by Thomas the Rhymer, the eagles which nested in its craggs, disappeared. They only returned after the marriage of the Earl's heir to General Sir David Baird's sister where they remained until the estate passed to the Gordons, they once more disappeared.
In 1829 General Sir David Baird died without issue.
In (Date shown on Monument) the monument was erected to the man who was possibly Scotlands greatest General.
In 2006 He became the Topic of a Geocache “General Sir David Baird”

The Monument to the Man

The monument, built in stone, which I guessed at approximately 75 feet high and at least 10 feet square at the base. It is, I was told, shaped roughly like Cleopatra's needle, and the base is made of stone blocks which are approximately 2feet square and 4 feet long with the tower being built in stone blocks approximately 18 inches square and varying length as it rises up the tower. The size of the blocks stuck in my mind when trying to estimate the size of the obelisk, and may also explain the rings in the coble stones where pulleys were attached and horses in the valley below would pull the stones up the hill, possibly on wooden sleds to slide over the cobbles. (if anybody knows the correct method of construction, please let me know). It is strange that a man that was so highly thought of, and gave to his country, that they, in (Date shown on Monument), carrying tons of stone up a mountainside, raised a monument to him, but we today in 2006, sadly, find that monument is overgrown and neglected.

The cache is hidden at the following Location:

N 56 AA.BCD W003 EF.FFG

Where A,B,C,D,E,F & G are found using the clues listed below. All the answers can be found engraved on the monument.

This Coloum was errected AD "X"8 "Y" "Z"

Seringapatam taken by storm "R" May 1 "S" 9 "T"

Use the above to work out the final location.

A = Z
B = Y
C = Y-Z-X
D = T-Y
E = Z+Y
F = R
G = X

Again final location is N56 AA.BCD W003 EF.FFG

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Va n fznyy ebggra gerr fghzc ng gur fvqr bs gur cngu ba gur jnl qbja.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)