| White Top | |
|---|---|
 Earthworks atCheat Summit Fort (Fort Milroy) | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 4,085 ft (1,245 m) |
| Parent peak | Cheat Mountain |
| Coordinates | 38°37′28″N79°52′36″W / 38.62444°N 79.87667°W /38.62444; -79.87667 |
| Geography | |
 | |
| Location | Randolph County, West Virginia |
| Parent range | Allegheny Mountains |
Cheat Summit Fort | |
   | |
| Location | County Route 250/4, west of FR 233 at White Top, nearHuttonsville, West Virginia |
| Area | 34 acres (14 ha) |
| Built | 1861 |
| NRHP reference No. | 90001445[1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 28, 1990 |
White Top is a knob and spur ofCheat Mountain in southeasternRandolph County, West Virginia, USA. Sitting at an elevation of 4,085 feet (1,245 m), it is located just west of theShavers Fork of Cheat River andCheat Bridge. While White Top was originally crossed by theStaunton–Parkersburg Turnpike, modern-dayU.S. Route 250 skirts the base of the knob beside Shavers Fork to the north and east.
White Top is perhaps best known as the site of the highestUnion camp during theAmerican Civil War. 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 m) below the fort. In guarding the Turnpike, Fort Milroy helped to guard entrance to theTygart Valley River valley to the west.
Construction on Fort Milroy (named for UnionBrigadier GeneralRobert H. Milroy) began on July 16, 1861.[2] 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 drivingConfederate 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 theNational Register of Historic Places in 1990.[1]
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 atWest Virginia National Cemetery inGrafton. Depressions from the graves are still visible today.[citation needed]
White Top is also known as the first location where theCheat Mountain Salamander was identified. This smallvertebrate species was identified in 1935 byM. Graham Netting andLeonard Llewellyn.[3] The salamander is found only onCheat Mountain and adjacent mountains in theWest Virginia highlands.
