Beginning in late September, I started a series of posts about Frederick County and Winchester, VA. This is the second installment of this series. To see others in this series, click on the label "Winchester and Frederick County" below this post.
It's a cliche, but true, that you can discern much about a town by its cemetery; Mount Hebron Cemetery reveals Winchester's secrets.
It's a cliche, but true, that you can discern much about a town by its cemetery; Mount Hebron Cemetery reveals Winchester's secrets.
This cemetery is interesting for both its Civil War history as well as the graves of both locally prominent and national Americans, war heroes, and statesmen. All told, there are almost 35 thousand interred in Mount Hebron, and as the tour revealed, there's a story for each individual there.
One of Mount Hebron's Revolutionary War heroes is Charles Magill, who served on the staffs of both generals George Washington and Nathanael Green. Injured during the war, he survived, and went on to become an attorney, a Federal judge, a state senator, and finally mayor of Winchester.
A more famous resident of the cemetery is General Daniel Morgan, who during the Revolutionary War was one of Washington's most trusted leaders, and was a hero in both the battles of Saratoga and Cowpens. His restful peace was almost disturbed several times: during the Civil War his grave was obscured, so Union troops wouldn't disinter him and remove him to a Northern site; the city of Winchester resisted a later effort in 1951 to move him to the site of his greatest victory, Cowpens, SC.
A more famous resident of the cemetery is General Daniel Morgan, who during the Revolutionary War was one of Washington's most trusted leaders, and was a hero in both the battles of Saratoga and Cowpens. His restful peace was almost disturbed several times: during the Civil War his grave was obscured, so Union troops wouldn't disinter him and remove him to a Northern site; the city of Winchester resisted a later effort in 1951 to move him to the site of his greatest victory, Cowpens, SC.
One of the first things you notice in the cemetery are the ruins of the old Lutheran Church, which had been built between 1760-1790. The ruins are all that survive after the church burned in 1854, but the ruins establish a lovely landmark for the cemetery.
If you go there, be sure to look for the most mysterious gravestone in Mount Hebron I've ever seen: it's marked with a skull and crossbones, but no other identification.
Stonewall Cemetery -- named, of course, for General Stonewall Jackson, who made Winchester his headquarters in late 1861 through early spring 1862 -- is the resting place for the bodies of 2,575 Confederate soldiers who died in the fields and hospitals of this locality.
Know before you go: Walking tours are offered or you can create your own by downloading the app from Mount Hebron Cemetery's website.
Getting there: 305 East Boscawen St, Winchester, VA 22601
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily
Website: http://www.mthebroncemetery.org/
For other tombstone tourist destinations, go to the Blog's Find a Great Place to Day Trip or click on the cemeteries label below.
If you enjoy this blog, please tell your friends about it!
Check out the blog's FB page for updates on places we've visited and blogged about: facebook.com/midatlanticdaytrips! And follow us @midatlanticdaytrips on Instagram to find up what we're up to between blog posts!
Have you daytripped somewhere interesting? I'd love to hear what you're doing! Email [email protected] if you're interested in being a guest-blogger!
Website: http://www.mthebroncemetery.org/
For other tombstone tourist destinations, go to the Blog's Find a Great Place to Day Trip or click on the cemeteries label below.
If you enjoy this blog, please tell your friends about it!
Check out the blog's FB page for updates on places we've visited and blogged about: facebook.com/midatlanticdaytrips! And follow us @midatlanticdaytrips on Instagram to find up what we're up to between blog posts!
Have you daytripped somewhere interesting? I'd love to hear what you're doing! Email [email protected] if you're interested in being a guest-blogger!
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