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WWI Silent Night
Location: Chaplin, CT
Planted 11/16/02
By French Fox & Irishtinker
From the Intersection of Rte.6 & 198 turn on Rte
198 and follow 2.5 miles. Turn LEFT on Pumpkin Hill Rd. Follow
past
the Gas lines (you will see yellow posts that actually say Gas Line)
Go to the second gate on the right after the gas line.
When World War I broke out in 1914 German, Belgian, British, Canadian, etc. Troops heard promises of returning home before Christmas in victory. These promises proved greatly untrue!
Imagine these men laying in the wet trenches on
Christmas Eve 1914. The 3+ inches of water that lined the base of
frigid trenches was frozen. Many of these men had holes in their boots
and their hands were exposed to the bitter night.
Their hearts must have been broken dreaming of
their sweet hearts waiting under the mistle-toe for their soldiers
return or may be it was a vision of their mother's smiling face
leaning over the elegant set table holding a platter of roasted turkey
or goose and all the fixings.
Hundreds of men had already been slaughtered and
bodies laid frozen in the mud between the two opposing trenches. Every
so often men would put up the white flag and try to recover their
dead.
Just before midnight on Christmas Eve the British
noticed small lights being lit and held high in the air. Through
binoculars it was noted that the German soldiers were holding up
candles on the end of their bayonets, some even held up Christmas
trees. Through the piercing silence the British heard a song in the
air. One solo voice rang out. Slowly the voice was joined by others.
Although the words were in German the tune was quickly recognized as
"Silent Night, Holy Night" One by one the brave soldiers ventured out
into the "no man's land" the small pieces of land that lay between the
two opposing trenches. The men that just hours before were trying to
kill each other were now exchanging photos of loved ones, dehydrated
beef, some played ball and others just told stories. When Christmas
had ended the men shook hands and went back to their own trenches. A
German General stood on the edge of his trench and bowed toward his
enemies. A British General saluted towards his enemies. The War was on
again!
To find this box: Walk around the gate. On your
right you will see an old foundation. There will be a flat stone in
the middle of the path. Walk 12 paces. There will be a large rock on
your right. From the back side of this rock, heading towards the pond
walk 8 paces. You will see a shaggy tree and pile of rocks. Two rocks
lean against each other making a peak. between the two rocks behind
some smaller stones is your treasure.
Rehide well! We hope you enjoyed the history & box!
Before you set out, please read the waiver of responsibility and disclaimer. Back to Main Page |