Keyes Gap or Keyes' Gap is a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountain

Blue Ridge Mountain

Blue Ridge Mountain, also known as Blue Mountain, is the colloquial name of the western most ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia...

 on the border of Loudoun County, Virginia

Loudoun County, Virginia

Loudoun County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county is estimated to be home to 312,311 people, an 84 percent increase over the 2000 figure of 169,599. That increase makes the county the fourth...

 and Jefferson County, West Virginia

Jefferson County, West Virginia

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 53,498. Its county seat is Charles Town...

. The gap is traversed by Virginia State Route 9

Virginia State Route 9

Virginia State Route 9 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Charles Town Pike, the state highway runs from the West Virginia state line near Mechanicsville, where the highway continues west as West Virginia Route 9 , east to SR 7 and SR 7 Business near Paeonian...

/West Virginia State Route 9

West Virginia State Route 9

West Virginia Route 9 is a major east–west state highway located in the eastern extents of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. The western terminus of the route is at the Maryland state line north of Paw Paw, where WV 9 becomes Maryland Route 51 upon crossing the Potomac River...

. The Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...

 also crosses the gap.

History

Originally known as Vestal's Gap, the 906 feet (276.1 m) gap is one of the lowest crossings of the Blue Ridge in Virginia. During the colonial period

Colonial America

The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...

 the main road between Alexandria

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

 and Winchester

Winchester, Virginia

Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...

 ran through the gap. As such, part of General Edward Braddock

Edward Braddock

General Edward Braddock was a British soldier and commander-in-chief for the 13 colonies during the actions at the start of the French and Indian War...

's army under George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 crossed through the gap on their way to Fort Duquesne

Fort Duquesne

Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....

 during the French and Indian War

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

.

By 1820, the main route west became the newly completed Snickers Gap Turnpike which crossed the Blue Ridge to the south at Snickers Gap

Snickers Gap

Snickers Gap, originally William's Gap, is a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountain on the border of Loudoun County and Clarke County in Virginia. The gap is traversed by Virginia State Route 7. The Appalachian Trail also passes across the gap...

, and Keyes Gap lost its prominence. Despite this, Keyes Gap was still of strategic importance during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, as it provided an alternate "back route" from Virginia to the key point of Harpers Ferry.