Little Cacapon is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. Little Cacapon is located at the mouth of the

Little Cacapon River The Little Cacapon River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 free-flowing tributary of the Potomac River in the center of Hampshire County, West Virgini ...

on the Potomac, east of

Okonoko Okonoko is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Okonoko is located north of Levels on the Potomac River at Bright's Hollow. The community's placename is the only one of its kind within the United St ...

. Okonoko-Little Cacapon Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 2/7) and Spring Gap-Neals Run Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 2) converge south of Little Cacapon. Because of its key location at the mouth of the Little Cacapon and on the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

, Little Cacapon played important roles in both the French and Indian and American Civil Wars. Generally pronounced . Sometimes, despite the current spelling of the word (derived from local Native American for "medicine water") some locals say .

Fort Cox

On April 4, 1765, a settler by the name of Balzar Stoker received a land grant of 232 acres (940,000 m²) from Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron along the Little Cacapon River and its mouth on the Potomac. Prior to receiving his land grant from Lord Fairfax, Stoker had also purchased 30 acres (120,000 m²) from John Cox. Located on these lands at the Little Cacapon's mouth was "Coxes Ferry," which crossed the Potomac to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It was at the river's mouth (referred to as "Ferry Field") that a relative of John Cox, Friend Cox, had constructed a stockade. Cox's Fort was erected prior to 1750 for the purposes of protecting and defending both the Potomac River and the Little Cacapon valley.

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

had previously surveyed a tract of 240 acres (970,000 m²) of land at the Little Cacapon's mouth fo
Nicholas Friend
ref> on April 25, 1750. Cox's fort and ferry later served as a means of transportation for General

Edward Braddock Major-General Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe ...

and his soldiers en route to

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

from

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

Civil War skirmishes

By 1842, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had been completed from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

to Cumberland along the Potomac River through Green Spring,

, and Little Cacapon. With the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

in 1861, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad became a contested mode of transportation between the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and the Confederacy. Once again, the mouth of the Little Cacapon became a vital location of defense of both the railroad and the Little Cacapon valley. On November 30, 1861, a skirmish occurred near the river in defense of the Little Cacapon railroad bridge that resulted in the wounding of three Union soldiers. The 54th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment's Company K, under the leadership of Captain Edmond R. Newhard, was assigned to guard duty at the Baltimore and Ohio's railroad bridge over the Little Cacapon until January 1863. On October 4, 1862, a skirmish between Company K and Confederate soldiers under the command of General

John D. Imboden John Daniel Imboden (; February 16, 1823August 15, 1895), American lawyer, Virginia state legislator, and a Confederate army general. During the American Civil War, he commanded an irregular cavalry force. After the war, he resumed practicing la ...

resulted in the capture of 54 Company K men (including Captain Newhard and Lieutenant Wagner).

Historic site

* Cox's Fort Site

References

External links

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Hampshire County, West Virginia Unincorporated communities in West Virginia Baltimore and Ohio Railroad West Virginia populated places on the Potomac River Hampshire County, West Virginia, in the American Civil War American Civil War sites in West Virginia West Virginia placenames of Native American origin