Monterey in Highland County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Monterey
"I never saw such a sight"
Photographed by Mark P Brock-Cancellieri, July 20, 2024
1. Monterey Marker
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
this page online
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 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 original Thirteen Colonies,
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); The Recorder (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Highland Inn (about 500 feet away); Camp Allegheny (approx. 7.1 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".
Photographed by Mark P Brock-Cancellieri, July 20, 2024
3. Monterey Marker and Highland County Confederate Monument in the background
Credits. This page was last revised on August 9, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 16, 2024, by Mark P. Brock-Cancellieri of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 253 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on September 16, 2024, by Mark P. Brock-Cancellieri of Baltimore, Maryland. 2. submitted on August 9, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on September 16, 2024, by Mark P. Brock-Cancellieri of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
