NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. 1. Name of Property Historic name: Staunton River Bridge Fortification Historic District Other names/site number: Fort Hill: Staunton River Battlefield State Park; DHR #041-5276 Name of related multiple property listing: The Civil War in Virginia, 1861–1865: Historic and Archaeological Resources________ (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. Location Street & number: 1035 Fort Hill Trail__________________________________________ City or town: _Randolph___ State: Virginia County: Halifax and Charlotte_____ Not For Publication: x Vicinity: x ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this x nomination ___ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property x meets ___ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: ___national _x_statewide ___local Applicable National Register Criteria: _x_A ___B _x_C ___D Signature of certifying official/Title: Date Virginia Department of Historic Resources___________________________________ State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. Signature of commenting official: Date Title : State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government 1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Staunton River Bridge Fortification Halifax and Charlotte Counties, VA Historic District Name of Property County and State _____________________________________________________________________________ 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby certify that this property is: entered in the National Register determined eligible for the National Register determined not eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register other (explain:) _____________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action ____________________________________________________________________________ 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply.) Private: Public – Local Public – State x Public – Federal Category of Property (Check only one box.) Building(s) District x Site Structure Object Sections 1–6 page 2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Staunton River Bridge Fortification Halifax and Charlotte Counties, VA Historic District Name of Property County and State Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count) Contributing Noncontributing _____0_______ ______0______ buildings _____0_______ ______0______ sites _____3_______ ______2______ structures _____0_______ ______1______ objects _____3_______ ______3______ Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register ____0_____ ____________________________________________________________________________ 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) DEFENSE: Arms Storage DEFENSE: Fortification DEFENSE: Battle Site Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) LANDSCAPE: Park: State Park__________________ LANDSCAPE: Forest__________________________ RECREATION AND CULTURE: Outdoor Recreation Sections 1–6 page 3 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Staunton River Bridge Fortification Halifax and Charlotte Counties, VA Historic District Name of Property County and State _____________________________________________________________________________ 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions.) NO STYLE Materials: (enter categories from instructions.) Principal exterior materials of the property: EARTH; STONE; METAL; OTHER (backfill) Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance and condition of the property. Describe contributing and noncontributing resources if applicable. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, type, style, method of construction, setting, size, and significant features. Indicate whether the property has historic integrity.) ______________________________________________________________________________ Summary Paragraph The 23.25-acre Staunton River Bridge Fortification Historic District consists of prominent Civil War–era features associated with the June 25, 1864, Civil War Battle of Staunton River Bridge that are located within the Staunton River Battlefield State Park in Halifax and Charlotte counties, Virginia. The contributing resources include the piers and abutments of the mid- nineteenth-century railroad bridge, now topped by a 1902 four-span Camelback through truss and reserved for pedestrian use since the 1990s; a Confederate earthen bastion fort and associated infantry trenches immediately east of the bridge on bluffs above the south bank of the river; and a gun emplacement approximately 1,200 feet to the west, also on bluffs above the south bank. The bridge crosses a portion of the Roanoke River known locally as the Staunton River, which extends for 81 miles from Leesville Lake in Virginia to the North Carolina state line. In the vicinity of the park, the Staunton River marks the boundary between the Virginia counties of Halifax (to the south) and Charlotte (to the north). Formerly part of the Southern Railroad (the Richmond and Danville Railroad at the time of the Civil War), the rail corridor and bridge within the southern portion of the park have been converted to a 0.8-mile-long hiking trail. The railroad crossing was a crucial transportation link for Confederate forces in Petersburg (some 90 miles to the northeast) during the 1864–1865 siege and one of the targets of a ten-day Union cavalry raid aimed at disrupting Confederate supply lines by destroying tracks, bridges, and other railroad infrastructure. Rudimentary fortifications at Staunton River Bridge were hastily constructed by reserve troops, local civilians, and enslaved laborers on the eve of the battle, and the bastion fort was augmented to its present configuration immediately afterward. Union assaults on the railroad crossing and attempts to burn the bridge during the battle failed against Confederate infantry behind earthworks (no longer extant) on the north side of the river and fire from six artillery pieces positioned in the surviving fortifications on the south side of the river. Section 7 page 4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Staunton River Bridge Fortification Halifax and Charlotte Counties, VA Historic District Name of Property County and State _____________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Description Contributing resources of the 23.25-acre Staunton River Bridge Fortification Historic District include two Confederate fortifications and the bridge abutments and piers of an antebellum railroad crossing—the main strategic asset in contention during the Battle of Staunton River Bridge, fought on June 25, 1864. The district lies entirely within the bounds of the southernmost of two discontiguous tracts that comprise Staunton River Battlefield State Park. In turn, the state park encompasses a total of 336.96 acres that are completely contained within a 3,848.66-acre area recommended by the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) as the National Register boundary for the battlefield. The study area for the battlefield contains an additional 477.86 acres extending from the south end of the battlefield’s recommended National Register boundary, and there are two core areas. The northern core area (171.63 acres), where fighting between Union and Confederate cavalry occurred late in the battle, lies 2.5 miles north of the park. The southern core area, where the most intense combat took place, encompasses 391.15 acres, of which 223.86 acres lie within the southern park tract; the northern park tract lies outside the southern core but within the battlefield. The southern park tract consists of 93.31 acres on the south side of the Staunton River in Halifax