The hilltop area located above and to the right of where you are standing is Cannon Hill. In April 1863, the cannons located there defended Rowlesburg and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad during a Civil War skirmish.
The B&O Railroad crossed the Cheat River at Rowlesburg, making it a strategic area which both the Union and Confederate forces wanted to control. The railroad linked the eastern and western Union forces with supplies of food, ammunition and troops.
On April 26, 1863, just weeks before the new state of West Virginia would enter the Union, 1,000 Confederate troops led by General W.E. "Grumble" Jones arrived, planning to destroy the railroad's bridges, viaducts and trestles in the area.
The Sixth West Virginia Infantry, 250 strong and local residents joined forces under the command of Major John Showalter. They prepared an ambush south of the town, lined up troops behind the railroad embankment to protect the bridge, piled railroad ties across the tracks, and readied the cannons atop Cannon Hill.
The Rebel troops attacked Rowlesburg from the south and from the eastern end of the railroad bridge across the river during the day.
The Union artillery, including the cannons, turned the Confederate forces back. Major Showalter's troops kept the Confederates from entering the town and from reaching their targets.
By nightfall, General Jones' troops had retreated and headed west.
The Confederates did not threaten Rowlesburg again, and railroad traffic through the Cheat River canyon was unimpeded for the remainder of the war.
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