White Top is a knob and spur of

Cheat Mountain Cheat Mountain is an exceptionally high and rugged ridge situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is about long (north to south) and more than five miles (8 km) wide at its widest. Its highest point is at its sou ...

in southeastern

Randolph County Randolph County is the name of eight counties in the United States: *Randolph County, Alabama *Randolph County, Arkansas *Randolph County, Georgia *Randolph County, Illinois *Randolph County, Indiana *Randolph County, Missouri *Randolph County, Nort ...

, West Virginia, USA. Sitting at an elevation of , it is located just west of the Shavers Fork of Cheat River and Cheat Bridge. While White Top was originally crossed by the

Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike The Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike was built in what is now the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia during the second quarter of the 19th century to provide a roadway from Staunton, Virginia and the upper Shenandoah Valley to the Ohio River at ...

, modern-day U.S. Route 250 skirts the base of the knob beside Shavers Fork to the north and east.

Cheat Summit Fort (Fort Milroy)

White Top is perhaps best known as the site of the highest

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 ...

camp during 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 ...

. Fort Milroy, also known as Cheat Summit Fort, offered an excellent view of the surrounding area including the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike which crossed about below the fort. In guarding the Turnpike, Fort Milroy helped to guard entrance to the

Tygart Valley River The Tygart Valley River — also known as the Tygart River — is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed Aug ...

valley to the west. Construction on Fort Milroy (named for Union

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Robert H. Milroy) began on July 16, 1861. Due to its high elevation, the Union Army faced a number of winter-related miseries. Snow was first reported for the year on August 13. Horses froze to death in mid-September. These issues, along with some success in driving

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

forces from the area led to the abandonment of the fort in April 1862. One Indiana soldier is quoted as having said this of their departure: "With what a light step all started. Soon on the road turning at the brow of the hill, the fourteenth took what I fondly hope is their last look at Cheat Mountain." The Cheat Summit Fort site was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1990.

Fort Milroy Cemetery

A cemetery for those who died at Fort Milroy was built just south of the fort. All bodies were exhumed from the site after the Civil War ended with many being reinterred at

West Virginia National Cemetery West Virginia National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located Grafton, West Virginia, Grafton, Taylor County, West Virginia, Taylor County, West Virginia. It encompasses . Along with Grafton National Cemetery, it is one of the two n ...

in Grafton. Depressions from the graves are still visible today.

Cheat Mountain salamander

White Top is also known as the first location where the

Cheat Mountain Salamander The Cheat Mountain salamander (''Plethodon nettingi'') is a species of small woodland salamander found only on Cheat Mountain, and a few nearby mountains, in the eastern highlands of West Virginia. It and the West Virginia spring salamander ( ...

was identified. This small

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...

species was identified in 1935 by M. Graham Netting and Leonard Llewellyn. Brooks, Maurice (1965), ''The Appalachians: The Naturalist's America'', Illustrated by Lois Darling and Lo Brooks, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company The salamander is found only on

and adjacent mountains in the

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 B ...

highlands.

Cheat Summit Fort (Fort Milroy)

Fort Milroy Cemetery

Cheat Mountain salamander

References

See also