Hanging Rock is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Roanoke County Roanoke County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, its population was 96,929. Its county seat is Salem, but the county administrative offices are located in the census-designated place of ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, United States located directly north of

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

. The community is named for a prominent rock

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...

. The intersection of Virginia State Route 311 and Virginia State Route 419 is in Hanging Rock.

Battle

In the Battle of Hanging Rock in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, a retreat to West Virginia by Union General

David Hunter David Hunter (July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886) was an American military officer. He served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He achieved notability for his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves ...

was briefly disrupted by the forces of Confederate Generals

Jubal A. Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was an American lawyer, politician and military officer who served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, ...

and

John McCausland John McCausland, Jr. (September 13, 1836 – January 22, 1927) was a brigadier general in the Confederate army, famous for the ransom of Hagerstown, Maryland, and the razing of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War. Earl ...

. On June 21, 1864, Hunter and his men were seeking refuge after failing to capture Lynchburg, 60 miles to the east. About 100 union soldiers were killed partly because their way was blocked by trees that had been felled across the road. "On June 21, 1864 General Hunter, retreating from defeat at Lynchburg by General Early, met Confederate forces led by General John McCausland. After losing some of his artillery here, Hunter continued his withdrawal northwest through New Castle to Lewisburg." "Hunter retreated along the Lynchburg-Salem Turnpike (today's U.S. 460) in a wagon train that stretched for 11 miles. Union Gen. Alfred Duffie was ordered to burn the wool mill and depot at Bonsack, Virginia, cut telegraph wires and burn the rail depots in Big Lick (now Roanoke) and Salem. McCausland pursued Hunter by crossing the

Peaks of Otter The Peaks of Otter are three mountain topographical summit, peaks in the Blue Ridge Mountains, overlooking the town of Bedford, Virginia, which lies to the southeast along State Route 43 (Virginia), State Route 43. These peaks are Sharp Top, ...

and headed toward Salem on the Great Valley Pike (the primary corridor for today's I-81 and

U.S. Route 11 in Virginia U.S. Route 11 (US 11) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in western Virginia. At , it is the second longest numbered route (after US 58) and longest primarily north–south route in the state. It enters the state ...

), which was a better road and a faster way to get to the Roanoke Valley. McCausland and Confederate Gen. Robert Ransom Jr.'s men caught Hunter's army, which was slowed by the narrow gap through Hanging Rock up Catawba Mountain toward

New Castle, Virginia New Castle (historically spelled as one word; "Newcastle") is the only town in Craig County, Virginia, United States. The population was 125 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Craig County, Virginia, Craig County. The junctions of Virgi ...

. Local militia had blocked the road with fallen trees, further slowing the retreat." Maps Number 10 and 10a by

Jedediah Hotchkiss Jedediah Hotchkiss (November 30, 1828 – January 17, 1899), known most frequently as Jed, was a teacher and the most famous cartography, cartographer and topographer of the American Civil War. His detailed and accurate maps of the Shenandoah V ...

, 1828-1899, concern the battle. "No. 10. Map of engagement at Hanging Rock, Roanoke County, Va., Tuesday June 21st 1864, to accompany report of Jed. Hotchkiss, Top. Eng., A.V.D. Scale 1:40,000 -- No. 10a. Map of engagement at Hanging Rock, Roanoke County, Va., Tuesday June 21st 1864. Scale 1:40,000."

Markers

There are several markers at the site commemorating the battle. One was placed there in 1932 by the

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, a ...

. Another one commemorates the battle and was placed there by the Virginia Civil War Trails. Another marker,
Two Future Presidents In Wartime Retreat: Hanging Rock Battlefield Trail
commemorates two future presidents,

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

and

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. Hayes served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861. He was a staunch Abolitionism in the Un ...

, who were present at the conflict. Another marker described the attack, and was erected in 1999 by County of Roanoke, the City of Salem, and the Hanging Rock Battlefield and Railway Preservation Foundation.McCausland Attacks; Hanging Rock Battlefield Trail
" The United Daughters of the Confederacy also placed a marker commemorating the 100th anniversary of the battle.
100th Anniversary of Hanging Rock
" The inscription reads: "Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Skirmish at Hanging Rock, June 21, 1864. Erected by the William Watts Chapter, U. D. C. June 21, 1964." There is another marker nearby in the form of a standing soldier statue atop a granite pedestal, commemorating Lynchburg philanthropist and soldier, George Morgan Jones. The monument was commissioned after Jones' death by his widow. The inscription reads: "In honor of George Morgan Jones. Citizen - Soldier Philanthropist." Although Morgan is depicted in a general's uniform, he did not advance beyond the rank of private.

References

Bibliography

* Berrier, Ralph
150 years later, peace abides at Hanging Rock battlefield: The nearest Civil War action to Roanoke took place a century and a half ago today.

Roanoke Times ''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...

. June 20, 2014. *
Battle of Hanging Rock
Virginia Center for Civil War Studies. Virginia Tech. * Miller, Suzanne
Discover History & Heritage. Our Region in Portrait
2017.

. * Rice, Clive E. 2003.
Havoc at Hanging Rock
. Journal of the History Museum and Historical Society of Western Virginia. 15, no. 2: 63-66. https://web.archive.org/web/20140720163248/http://www.salemmuseum.org/guide_archives/HSV5N3.aspx {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Roanoke County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia