You Can Still Tour These Hand-Dug, 160-Year-Old Civil War Trenches In West Virginia
Oh, the things these mountains have seen! When it comes to history, West Virginia truly has experienced it all. From Native American civilizations to early European pioneers, from the French and Indian War to the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, from trapping to logging to mining to farming, from presidents to outlaws… it seems like everything under the sun has occurred right here on the rugged Appalachian slopes of West Virginia. What’s more, you can still find historical evidence for most of it hiding within our towns and fields and forests and hollows.
In 1861 and 1862, the Confederate army dug a series of deep trenches at Fort Mill Ridge outside Romney, West Virginia in preparation to defend their hold on the area significant for its proximity to the Potomac and the Northwestern Turnpike.
But the Confederates never used these trenches that they labored over; by 1963, they were in Union hands, and remained that way for the rest of the war.
Today, you can still visit the Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches, complete with graveled trails and helpful informational signage so that you can fully appreciate exactly what happened in these woods with these trenches, and why.
In fact, not only can you visit them, but these well-defined dirt mounds are actually acknowledged as the most well preserved example of Civil War battle trenches in the nation!
Another way to learn more about Fort Mill Ridge and the Civil War history of the Romney area is with a visit to the Taggert Hall Civil War Museum and Visitors Center in downtown Romney.
Have you taken the opportunity to explore the Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches? Did you know that they are THE prime example of Civil War battle trenching in the nation?
The Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches are accessible from the Fort Mill Ridge Wildlife Management Area located just off the Northwestern Turnpike (U.S. Route 50) about three miles outside of Romney, West Virginia.
