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Monterey in Highland County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Monterey

"I never saw such a sight"

 
 
Monterey Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Mark P Brock-Cancellieri, July 20, 2024
1. Monterey Marker
Inscription. Monterey, the seat of Highland County government, also served as the headquarters for Confederate and Union forces at different times during the Civil War. Confederate Gen. Henry R. Jackson, who led a brigade under Gen. Robert E. Lee during the First Campaign (or Mountain Campaign) of 1861, established his headquarters here. In the winter of 1861-1862, skirmishes occurred across the county as the no-man's-land between the armies shifted from the Allegheny Mountains on today's state line to West View in Augusta County.

On April 6, 1862, Union Gen. Robert H. Milroy and his forces occupied Monterey, and Milroy used the Osborne Wilson-Fenn House on Main Street as his headquarters. The town remained in Federal hands until after the Battle of McDowell on May 8, 1862, near the beginning of Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's Shenandoah Valley Campaign.

Many western Virginians were ambivalent about choosing sides. Highland County's government waited until June 1862, after Jackson's success in driving the Federals from the Shenandoah Valley, to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederacy.

(captions)
Gen Henry R. Jackson, from I.W. Avery, History of the State of Georgia (1881)
Gen. Robert H. Milroy Courtesy Library of Congress
Confederate reunion, Highland Inn, ca. 1908 Highland County Circuit Court

 
Erected by Virginia
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Civil War Trails.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical date for this entry is May 8, 1862.
 
Location. 38° 24.769′ N, 79° 34.937′ W. Marker is in Monterey, Virginia, in Highland County. It is at the intersection of West Main Street (U.S. 250) and Spruce Street, on the left when traveling west on West Main Street. Located in front of the Highland County District Courts. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 165 W Main St, Monterey VA 24465, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, in the Alleghany Highlands, and specifically in the Potomac Highlands. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the
Monterey Marker and Highland County Confederate Monument in the background image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Mark P Brock-Cancellieri, July 20, 2024
2. Monterey Marker and Highland County Confederate Monument in the background
original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Walk of Honor (a few steps from this marker); Highland County Confederate Monument (a few steps from this marker); The Charles Pinckney Jones Law Office (within shouting distance of this marker); The Charles Pinckney Jones House (within shouting distance of this marker); Highland Inn (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Camp Allegheny (approx. 7.1 miles away); The Mansion House (approx. 7.2 miles away); War Comes to McDowell (approx. 7.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Monterey.
 
Other markers no longer nearby. Monterey (has been replaced with this marker); Town of Monterey (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
 
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Old CWT Marker At This Location also titled "Monterey".
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on September 17, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 16, 2024, by Mark P. Brock-Cancellieri of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 245 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on September 16, 2024, by Mark P. Brock-Cancellieri of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
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Jul. 8, 2026