Florida Spirit Quest #004: Chris Columbus, Rebel Mystery Cache

WARNING: Two of the encrypted smilies below contain spoilers and hints as to the nature of the cache and its location. Please don't do this anymore... The cache-owners will provide clues as we think necessary...We could care less if you phone-a-friend, but please no more clues published on the cache page.

NO NIGHT CACHING

The Florida Spirit Quest series of geocaches will take you to a number of historic sites and cemeteries built by Florida Pioneers. In six years, the Spirit Quest has grown to over 800 caches hidden in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Ontario and the hiders have grown to over fifty cacher teams. Thousands of cacher teams have logged over 50,000 finds on these series.

Rose Hill Cemetery, an old Once- segregated African American Burial Ground is located in Tarpon Springs, Pinellas County, Florida.

The cemetery originated in the 19th Century.YOU WILL FIND CONCH SHELLS HERE ON SOME GRAVES DENOTING GRAVES OF NON-SLAVE FAMILIES, GROUND PENETRATING RADAR DISCS AT THE LOCATIONS OF UNMARKED GRAVES AND PERHAPS EVEN A WANDERING PEACOCK...

It has been estimated that over 65,000 Southern blacks served in the Confederate ranks during the Civil War. Over 13,000 of these served in combat roles... These Black Confederates included both slaves and freeemen. The Confederate Congress did not approve blacks to be officially enlisted as soldiers (except as musicians), until late in the war. But in the ranks it was a different story. Many Confederate officers did not obey the mandates of politicians, they frequently enlisted blacks with the simple criteria, "Will you fight?" Historian Ervin Jordan, explains that "biracial units" were frequently organized "by local Confederate and State militia Commanders in response to immediate threats in the form of Union raids".

A former slave, he was born on a plantation in South Carolina, where he was given his master's name. When the Civil War began, he enlisted along with his master's son (H.M. Quarles--Richard is listed in records as J.R. Quarles, with an "e".) in K Company, 7th Regiment , South Carolina Infantry . He is thought to have been a rifleman who may have fought at Gettysburg. After the war, Quarls changed his name to Christopher Columbus, thinking some might not appreciate his service with the Confederate Army. In 1866, he moved to Florida, where he married for the second time and had a third child. He was a chicken farmer , owned a horse and carriage service, and received a Confederate Pension from the State of Florida.

In 2003, Quarls was honored with a ceremony conducted by the Sons of the Confederacy, unveiling a headstone, marked by a Confederate seal.

The cache is located due north of the given coordinates. To find out its location, go to Pvt. Quarl's gravesite at N28 08.920 and W082 44.134--To find out the correct latitude you will have to look at the plaque that is on the Burial Vault Lid. There is an obvious letter missing on our soldier's assumed name.

X = the number of the letter of the alphabet of the missing letter multiplied by six.

Minutes of latitude= 08.780 +.0X+.069

The cache container is a SMALL-- BYOP. As always, please be respectful, and cache in, trash out. NO NIGHT CACHING!!

"Florida Spirit Quest" is brought to you by the following geocachers:Trader Rick & Rosie, Shady Sadie. . If you are interested in spreading the Quest to your neck of the woods AND WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US, email Trader Rick and Rosie.

** THIS IS A GENUINE FLORIDA SPIRIT QUEST CACHE**

HAPPY CACHING!!

CONGRATS TO WW.WILMA FOR FTF!!

October 21 by Trader Rick & Rosie (74 found) October 21 by tallglenn (2832 found) "Got the math right for the latitude, but there were two choices for longitude: the one for the cache and the one given in the description." Of course, tallglenn has gotten this wrong. There is clearly no choice to be made. Don't be misled. [This entry was edited by Trader Rick & Rosie on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 6:12:38 AM.]

November 11 by tallglenn (2921 found) Hi R&R, Would you please remove my name from your Oct. 21 comment? It makes me look like a big dumbass who is trying to mislead people. I don't think I'm the only one who has gotten the cache coords and the description coords mixed up. Thanx! :0)

Title: HISTORICAL MARKER: ROSE CEMETERY Location: County: Pinellas City: Tarpon Springs Description: Rose Cemetery, also known as Rose Hill Cemetery, established in the early 1900s as a segregated cemetery, is the oldest African-American cemetery in Pinellas County. Located on approximately five acres of land, the cemetery reflects the social history and cultural traditions associated with Christianity and early African-American customs. Many of the African-Americans buried here were of Bahamian descent, and some of their graves are marked by large conch shells. Although the earliest grave marked states 1904, there are strong indications of earlier burials. Rose Hill Cemetery Association was first incorporated on November 22, 1916, when the Lake Butler Villa Company gave the African-American board members a 99-year lease. The following year, in 1917, the property was deeded to the Association. Through the 1950s Rose Cemetery served other black communities throughout the county. Many difficulties through those years, including destroyed records, haphazard burials, and limited funding, resulted in many unmarked and misplaced graves. Significant burials included the founders of the local African-American churches started in the 1890s, and an African American Confederate Civil War veteran, Richard Quarls (1830-1925). Sponsors: THE ROSE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION, INC. AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

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