Sergeant Major Jiggs Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

NHPride: Due to unresolved issues, this cache has been archived. Please pick up any remaining cache bits as soon as possible.

Should you resolve cache issues and wish it re-posted, contact me at NHPridereviewer@gmail.com. Be sure to include the GC waypoint number. Keep in mind archived caches go through the review process and current guidelines apply.

Thanks for your understanding,
NHPride / Rich
Groundspeak Volunteer Reviewer for NH/VT

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Hidden : 4/3/2006
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

A short hike or paddle along the Cocheco River on a new trail system that runs through Dover.


Sergeant Major Jiggs

Many of you have met Jiggs while out on the trail, or have done one of his caches. The question often comes up “Where did he get that name?” So this cache is dedicated to Jiggs’s namesake “Sergeant Major Jiggs”.

During World War I, many official German reports had called the attacking Marines "teufel-hunden," meaning Devil-Dogs. These beasts were the ferocious mountain dogs of Bavarian folklore.

Soon afterward a U.S. Marine Recruiting Poster depicted a snarling English Bulldog wearing a Marine Corps helmet. Because of the tenacity and demeanor of the breed, the image took root with both the Marines and the public. The Marines soon unofficially adopted the English Bulldog as their mascot.

At their base at Quantico, Virginia, Marines obtained a registered English Bulldog, King Bulwark. Born in Philadelphia on May 22nd 1922, his father was the famous English Bulldog “Rob Roy”. In a formal ceremony on 14 October 1922, BGen. Smedley D. Butler signed documents which enlisted the bulldog, renamed Jiggs, for the "term of life." Pvt. Jiggs got an official USMC waiver and avoided boot camp. He immediately began his inspirational duties in the Corps.

A gungy hard-charging canine Marine, Pvt. Jiggs did not remain a private for long. Within three months he sported corporal chevrons on his custom-made uniform. On New Years Day 1924, Cpl. Jiggs got promoted to sergeant. And in a meteoric rise, he got promoted again -- this time, all the way to sergeant major -- seven months later. Repeatedly courtmartialed for breaches of etiquette and deportment, Jiggs (always soon reinstated) led a pampered and overfed existence in the glow of publicity and stardom, at one point sharing the cinematic limelight with Lon Chaney in the 1926 production, "Tell It To the Marines".

SgtMaj. Jiggs' death on 9 January 1927 was mourned throughout the Corps. The four-footed USMC sergeant major, in a miniature satin-lined coffin, lay in state in a hangar at Quantico. Row upon row of floral sprays from non-canine admirers flanked the coffin. Amid much pomp and ceremony, the Corps interred SgtMaj. Jiggs with full military honors.

Jiggs is very proud of his namesake, and often emulates the late SgtMaj’s behavior, (the pampered and overfed portion). Jiggs also shares his name with another famous bulldog better know as “Petey”. Our favorite little rascal’s real name was also Jiggs. His final resting spot can be found at The Aspin Hill Pet Cemetery in Silver Spring, MD.

Now onto the cache. Below are two suggested parking spots. The trail runs between these two points. DO NOT PARK at the ball field, or you will have to deal with the police and a tow truck. Use only the two listed parking areas. Pick either one and head toward the cache. Look for a small game trail/footpath on the river side of the trail. Only a 100ft or so of bushwacking. It will bring you to a secluded spot on the Cocheco River. Cache is hidden in typical fashion.

More InformationPetey/Jiggs



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