The Mother Loses Two Sons to War wayside marker is along Frederick Street about 1/3 mile southwest of the Center Square in Hanover, Pennsylvania. (see map below)
From the marker:
Mother Loses
Two Sons to War
Within the span of one year, Elizabeth Hoffacker of West Manheim Township received the news of her two sons’ deaths in combat during the Civil War. John, 24 years old, was promoted to corporal after being in the army for two months. Riding though Hanover, he was shot and killed instantly upon the first encounter with the Confederates on June 30, 1863. William was mortally wounded at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, May 12, 1864. The bodies of both men were buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Hanover, in a lot purchased by their father.
Americans sought ways to soothe their grief over a fallen generation. Hanover residents gathered each May 30 at local burial grounds to decorate soldiers’ graves with flowers. A monument at Mt. Olivet Cemetery bears the names of Civil War veterans from Hanover and surrounding areas.
Location
The “Mother Loses Two Sons to War” wayside marker is on the southeast side of Frederick Street in Hanover, Pennsylvania between Meade and Fleming Avanues.