Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches

United States historic place


Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches
U.S. National Register of Historic Places


Fort Mill Ridge Civil War TrenchesShow map of Eastern Panhandle of West VirginiaFort Mill Ridge Civil War TrenchesShow map of West VirginiaFort Mill Ridge Civil War TrenchesShow map of the United States
Location	Fort Mill Ridge Rd., Romney, West Virginia
Coordinates	39°19′28″N 78°47′37″W / 39.32444°N 78.79361°W / 39.32444; -78.79361
Area	201 acres (81 ha)
Built	c. 1861 (1861)-1862
NRHP reference No.	13001121
Added to NRHP	January 22, 2014

The Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches are battle trenches in West Virginia that were originally dug between 1861 and 1862 to be later used in 1863 for the civil war. These trenches lined with chestnut logs by the Confederate artillery during the American Civil War to defend the approaches to Romney on the Northwestern Turnpike and the South Branch Potomac River. The trenches were then refurbished between March and June 1863 by the 54th Pennsylvania Infantry and the 1st West Virginia Infantry. When Colonel Jacob M. Campbell (54th PVI) garrisoned Union forces at Romney, camps were set up at nearby at Mechanicsburg Gap. The Confederates might have created these trenches but all throughout the war the Union had control of these trenches.

The Fort Mill Ridge trenches are believed to be the best preserved battle trenches dating from the Civil War in existence. The trenches are located three miles southwest of Romney adjacent to the Fort Mill Ridge Wildlife Management Area off of the Northwestern Turnpike (U.S. Route 50/West Virginia Route 28).

This place is significant not only because of the battle that took place but also for the military engineering. The engineering style the Confederates used is an excellent example of a "rammed earth fortification" which protected transportation routes as well. Also, this brought a new era to warfare and a new style of fighting in trenches rather than on an open field. It provided more protection and defense than the offensive strategy of fighting. The defensive method was used so the transports can pass by safely.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

References

^ "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 1/21/14 through 1/24/14. National Park Service. 2014-01-31.
^ "Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches". Clio. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
Sandra Scaffidi (July 2013). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches" (PDF). State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation.
"National Register of Historic Places Program". National Park Service. Retrieved November 27, 2018.

External links

Media related to Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches (Romney, West Virginia) at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Hampshire County, West Virginia, in the American Civil War
Raids and expeditions	Romney Expedition
Units	Union army: 1st Maryland Cavalry Confederate States Army: 7th Virginia Cavalry 11th Virginia Cavalry 13th Virginia Infantry 23rd Virginia Cavalry 33rd Virginia Infantry 62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry McNeill's Rangers
People	James Dillon Armstrong Stonewall Jackson Angus William McDonald John Hanson McNeill Alexander W. Monroe Isaac Parsons Christian Streit White John Baker White Robert White
Places and tourism	Capon Chapel Confederate Memorial Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches Frenchburg, West Virginia Frye's Inn Hampshire County Courthouse Hanging Rock, West Virginia Hanging Rocks Hook's Tavern Ice Mountain Indian Mound Cemetery Literary Hall (Romney Literary Society) Little Cacapon, West Virginia Mechanicsburg Gap Moorefield and North Branch Turnpike Okonoko, West Virginia Romney, West Virginia Romney Classical Institute Romney Presbyterian Church Sloan–Parker House Springfield, West Virginia Sycamore Dale Taggart Hall Wappocomo Washington Bottom Farm Wirgman Building

v t e National Register of Historic Places in Hampshire County, West Virginia
Districts	Capon Springs North River Mills Historic District Washington Bottom Farm
Buildings	Brill Octagon House Capon Chapel Fort Van Meter French's Mill Hampshire County Courthouse Hebron Church Hickory Grove Hook's Tavern Kuykendall Polygonal Barn Nathaniel and Isaac Kuykendall House Literary Hall Old District Parsonage Old Pine Church Captain David Pugh House Scanlon Farm Sloan–Parker House Springfield Brick House Sycamore Dale Valley View Yellow Spring Mill West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind Dairy Barn Wilson-Wodrow-Mytinger House
Sites	Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches
Structures	Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge Pin Oak Fountain
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampshire County, West Virginia and List of National Historic Landmarks in West Virginia

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Barbour Berkeley Boone Braxton Brooke Cabell Calhoun Clay Doddridge Fayette Gilmer Grant Greenbrier Hampshire Hancock Hardy Harrison Jackson Jefferson Kanawha Lewis Lincoln Logan Marion Marshall Mason McDowell Mercer Mineral Mingo Monongalia Monroe Morgan Nicholas Ohio Pendleton Pleasants Pocahontas Preston Putnam Raleigh Randolph Ritchie Roane Summers Taylor Tucker Tyler Upshur Wayne Webster Wetzel Wirt Wood Wyoming
Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks
Category:National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Portal:National Register of Historic Places

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