The grounds of our magnificent state capitol are home to a number of sculptures worthy of a museum collection. When I worked downtown I often crossed this block and learned that two of the statues were created by the same artist who designed Mount Rushmore; Gutzon Borglum. Since it would be impossible to place a physical cache on the Capitol grounds because of security concerns I decided to include those in my Virtual Reward listing. The posted coords are for the Capitol itself.
The posted coordinates are for the actual Capitol building, the additional waypoints are for the specified statues. This five stop tour will bring you to the remaining Borglum creation as well as four other significant statues around the block. Plan on 30 minutes to an hour to locate all five of them and provide the required verification items for each one to validate your find. You can use the Message Center or email if you prefer. There are plenty of metered street spaces in the area, as well as a few parking decks. Street parking is free on weekends. I hope you also stop to enjoy the other monuments around the grounds that aren’t part of this cache. Post all the pictures you want, but any that show spoilers will be deleted.
Stop #0: 35°46.847 078°38.372-This statue has been removed due to the connection to the Civil War. I am leaving the text on the page for informational purposes since the motivation for creating this VR cache was the fact that NC had two statues created by Gutzon Borglum on the Capitol grounds. More information about this statue can be found here.
A bronze statue atop a granite base depicts Henry Lawson Wyatt, the first Confederate soldier to die in battle. The statue shows Wyatt walking into battle seemingly with purpose. The monument is intended as a memorial to all Confederate soldiers. I learned that it was a Borglum work when I observed someone on scaffolding applying what looked like liquid black latex to the statue. I stopped to ask what he was doing and was told that they worked for a foundation that worked to restore and maintain all of his public works around the country. They first applied a cleaning compound; then used another compound to remove it on the following days removing the damage caused by outdoor exposure over the years.
Send me the six letter word found on the west side of the bronze base.
Stop #1: 35°46.804 078°38.373 This is a statue of Ensign Worth Bagley, a Raleigh native. He was the brother-in-law of Josephus Daniels, the former publisher of the News and Observer. Bagley graduated from the US Naval Academy and served aboard the USS Indiana and USS Maine before transferring to the USS Winslow as the new torpedo boat’s Executive Officer. In 1897, The Winslow was engaged in the Spanish-American War in Cuban waters when it was struck by a shell killing Bagley and four sailors aboard. He was the only naval officer to die in that conflict. He’s buried nearby in Oakwood Cemetery in the family plot. There have been four Naval vessels named in his honor.
Send me the nine letter word starting with a V stamped on the targeting mechanism of the deck gun to the statue’s east.
Stop #2: 35°46.791 078°38.369 This is the second and only remaining work by Borglum. It’s the Charles Brantley Aycock Statue. The Aycock statue is lodged inside a granite bay that is bordered by granite panels on either side, each of which contains a bronze relief plaque depicting different scenes. The wings of the wall are decorated with bronze plaques with related quotations by Aycock underneath. Aycock was the 50th governor of NC serving from 1901-1905. Under his tenure as governor, he was an advocate for the improvement of the state's public school systems, and following his term in office, he traveled the country promoting educational causes. It is said that one new school was opened for nearly every day of his term.
There are a number of benches near this statue, send me the name and title of the person who is honored with the bench that is to the front left as you face the statue. Bonus points if you know what else he is well known for in Raleigh.
Stop 3: 35°46.819 078°38.312 North Carolina is the birthplace of three of our nation’s presidents and this statue honors them. Although North Carolina claims all three presidents as native sons, all were elected while residents of Tennessee. They are Andrew Jackson of Union County James K Polk of Mecklenburg County, and Andrew Johnson of Wake County. Jackson was also a General in the US Army and served in both houses of Congress before being elected as our 7th president. Polk was a protégé of Jackson who was Speaker of the House and Governor of TN before becoming the 11th president. Johnson had also been Governor of TN and was Lincoln’s VP becoming the 17th president after the assassination. He failed to win the Democratic nomination in 1868 and left office in 1869. He was elected to the Senate in 1875 making him the only former president to serve in the Senate. His childhood home is a mere mile north of the Capitol in Historic Mordecai park should you wish to continue your exploration of local history.
Send me the date found on Polk’s knee.
Stop 4: 35°46.846 078°38.309 This is the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. The memorial, entitled "After the Firefight" by sculptor Abbe Godwin, stands 6'3" tall, contains three bronze soldiers clad in uniform and holding their rifles close. Two of the figures carry their injured comrade to a landing zone to receive medical attention; the soldiers eye the sky, watching for an evacuation helicopter.
Send me the word that isn’t scratched out on the wounded soldier’s helmet.
Stop 5: 35°46.851 078*38.345 Your final stop on this tour is the War Memorial on the north side of the lawn. The 40-foot tall monument rests on a base holding bronze plaques that depict major battle scenes from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War in bas-relief. A bronze "eternal flame" sits above the plaques. Lady Liberty, dressed in classical garb, stands at the top of the monument. Find the Korean War Memorial on the west side.
You have two options to verify your visit here-either send me the name of the battle at the bottom of the right column or take a pic of your fingers holding the tiny ammo can.
I hope that you have enjoyed your tour of our State Capitol grounds. If you want to go inside the building you can take a self-guided tour any time between around 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday. Free guided tours are offered on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. You don’t have to make a reservation. Just walk in the east entrance of the building, and join the group. The tour takes about an hour and will take you to the rotunda, the outside of the Governor’s office, the old senate and house chambers (where the legislative bodies met until the early 1960s) the library and more.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018 This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog