|During the Civil War the railroad moved Union troops and
supplies and was the target of many attacks. Bridges were burned
and rebuilt, tracks were torn up and replaced, telegraph lines
pulled down and restored. However, despite attempts, Confederate
forces were never successful in destroying the famous bridges of
Rowlesburg. In the prints below, the original bridge crossing
Cheat River is shown. This bridge stood untouched throughout the
Civil War due to valiant efforts of the undermanned Union
regiment stationed in Rowlesburg.| |HARPER’S WEEKLY AUGUST 3,
1861 GENERAL HILL'S HEAD-QUARTERS IN ROWLESBURG. P. 487
ROWLESBURG, the head-quarters of General Hill in Western
Virginia, is situated in a deep gorge in the Alleghanies, at a
point where the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad crosses Cheat River.
The scenery around it is bold, grand, and picturesque, shut in
by towering mountain-walls, the dark stream flows silently on,
overshadowed with dense forests of hemlock and laurel. This
region of country is wild and thin