White Top is a knob and spur of Cheat Mountain

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 and more than five miles wide at its widest. Its highest point is at its southernmost end at Thorny Flat, which has an elevation of...

 in southeastern Randolph County

Randolph County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,262 people, 11,072 households, and 7,661 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 13,478 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...

, West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

, USA. Sitting at an elevation of 4085 feet (1,245.1 m), it is located just west of the Shavers Fork of Cheat River and Cheat Bridge

Cheat Bridge, West Virginia

Cheat Bridge is an unincorporated community in southeastern Randolph County, West Virginia, United States. It is located near U.S. Route 250's crossing of Shavers Fork.-The bridge:...

. While White Top was originally crossed by the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, modern-day U.S. Route 250

U.S. Route 250

U.S. Route 250 is a route of the United States Numbered Highway System, and is a spur of U.S. Route 50. It currently runs for from Sandusky, Ohio to Richmond, Virginia. It passes through the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio. It goes through the cities of Richmond, Virginia,...

 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 Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 camp 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...

. Fort Milroy, also known as Cheat Summit Fort, offered an excellent view of the surrounding area including the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike which crossed about 100 feet (30.5 m) below the fort. In guarding the Turnpike, Fort Milroy helped to guard entrance to the Tygart Valley River

Tygart Valley River

The Tygart Valley River — also known as the Tygart River — is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, approximately long, in east-central West Virginia, USA...

 valley to the west.

Construction on Fort Milroy (named for Union Brigadier General

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 Robert H. Milroy

Robert H. Milroy

Robert Huston Milroy was a lawyer, judge, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War, most noted for his defeat at the Second Battle of Winchester in 1863.-Early life:...

) 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 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

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 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

West Virginia National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located Grafton, Taylor County, West Virginia. It encompasses . Along with Grafton National Cemetery, it is one of the two national cemeteries in the state of West Virginia, both of which are located in Grafton...

 in Grafton

Grafton, West Virginia

Grafton is a city in, and county seat of, Taylor County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 5,489 at the 2000 census. The only two national cemeteries in West Virginia are located in Grafton. Mother's Day was founded in Grafton on May 10, 1908; the city is the home to the International Mother's...

. Depressions from the graves are still visible today. As of 2008, Monongahela National Forest

Monongahela National Forest

The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally-owned land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.The MNF includes some...

 is working to develop interpretive signage for the site.

Cheat Mountain salamander

White Top is also known as the first location where the Cheat Mountain Salamander

Cheat Mountain salamander

The Cheat Mountain salamander is a small, threatened woodland salamander found only on Cheat Mountain, and a few nearby mountains, in the eastern highlands of West Virginia...

 was identified. This small vertebrate

Vertebrate

Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...

 species was identified in 1935 by M. Graham Netting

M. Graham Netting

Maurice Graham Netting — known as M. Graham Netting — was a herpetologist, an early participant in the conservation and environmental movement, and a director of the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.-Biography:...

 and Leonard Llewellyn. The salamander is found only on Cheat Mountain

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 and more than five miles wide at its widest. Its highest point is at its southernmost end at Thorny Flat, which has an elevation of...

 and adjacent mountains in the West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

 highlands.

See also

• Battle of Camp Allegheny — Confederate base several miles east on Allegheny Mountain