Crook's Occupation of Union

Crook's Occupation of Union (HM1491)

Location: Union, WV 24983 Monroe County
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Country: United States of America
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N 37° 35.466', W 80° 32.592'

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Confederate Union under Federal Control

In May 1864, as Union Gen. George Crook led his force through Union on a Sunday morning after his victory at Cloyd's Mountain, VA., on May 9, "there was a Sabbath stillness, scarcely anyone to be seen." Although some of the Federals thought that Union was especially pious village and everyone was in church, in fact, many residents had fled to the Knobs (the hills above the town) with their livestock and other property. "Everyone was collecting their little valuables, and racking their brain to find some place of concealment where the cunning Yankees would not think of searching," Union resident Isabella Caperton wrote.

The "10,000 men, 200 wagons, 35 ambulances, 213 prisoners, {and} over 100 negroes" of Crook's army took six and a half hours to march through town and spread out for miles to camp and forage. The population of Monroe County was less than half the size of the army that occupied Union. Future presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley both marched through. Hayes referred to the town as "the fine village of Union."

Gen. William W. Averell, who had decided not to attack the salt works at Saltville, VA., after he heard that they were strongly defended, joined Crook here. Their meeting was the culmination of a wide-ranging raid that destroyed a Confederate supply depot in Dublin, VA., the railroad bridge spanning the New River, and several sections of railroad track. The cavalrymen remained in town for five days, liberating slaves and Unionists.

Details

HM Number	HM1491
Series	This marker is part of the West Virginia Civil War Trails series
Tags	US Civil War
Placed By	West Virginia Civil War Trails
Marker Condition	No reports yet
Date Added	Monday, September 8th, 2014 at 5:13pm PDT -07:00

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Locationbig map

UTM (WGS84 Datum)	17S E 540327 N 4160546
Decimal Degrees	37.59110000, -80.54320000
Degrees and Decimal Minutes	N 37° 35.466', W 80° 32.592'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds	37° 35' 27.96" N, 80° 32' 35.52" W
Driving Directions	Google Maps
Area Code(s)	304
Closest Postal Address	At or near 39 Nota St, Union WV 24983, US
Alternative Maps	Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap