Banks's Headquarters
This was the home of Harrisonburg's first mayor, Isaac Hardesty, an apothecary. Elected in 1849, Hardesty served until 1860. His Unionist sympathies compelled him to leave for Maryland after the Civil War began. Early in the first week of May 1862, Union Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks established his headquarters here while attempting to locate Confederate forces under Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and Gen. Richard S. Ewell. Banks telegraphed Washington several times during his stay here, speculating on Jackson's and Ewell's whereabouts. Banks and his army departed Harrisonburg for new market on May 5, hoping to engage Jackson's Valley Army and destroy the rail and supply centers at Staunton and Charlottesville. Jackson stymied him, however, by destroying the bridges over the North River at Mount Crawford and Bridgewater, and obstructing the fords with farm harrows. Before the month ended, Jackson drive Banks from the Shenandoah Valley; in June, Jackson defeated two other Union armies to crown his Valley Campaign.HM Number | HMRSX |
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Series | This marker is part of the Virginia Civil War Trails series |
Tags | |
Placed By | Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation & Virginia Civil War Trails |
Marker Condition | No reports yet |
Date Added | Monday, October 27th, 2014 at 4:13pm PDT -07:00 |
UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 17S E 685945 N 4257588 |
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Decimal Degrees | 38.44723333, -78.86921667 |
Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 38° 26.834', W 78° 52.153' |
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 38° 26' 50.04" N, 78° 52' 9.18" W |
Driving Directions | Google Maps |
Area Code(s) | 540 |
Closest Postal Address | At or near 201-299 US-11, Harrisonburg VA 22801, US |
Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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