Staunton River Battlefield State Park

On June 25, 1864, a volunteer force of 492 old men and young boys from Mecklenburg, Charlotte & Halifax Counties joined 296 Confederate troops to defend the Staunton River Railroad bridge from the Union. Badly outnumbered, they held the bridge, maintaining a vital supply line for General Lee's Northern Virginia army.

The original wooden covered railroad bridge that was at this location was the largest bridge on the Richmond & Danville Railroad north of Danville. The bridge was eventually burned during Lee's Retreat. It was rebuilt weeks after the war.

The 4-span Pratt steel truss bridge above was built on the original stone piers in 1902.

View of the bridge from the site of the Confederate rifle trenches.

These rolling grasslands are all that is left of the earthen fort that stood at the highest point near the bridge. The original fort was in the shape of a star and could only be entered via a causeway that crossed a moat on the west side of the site.

The earthen platforms around the perimeter of the fort were the cannon ports, which enabled gun crews to guard all approaches to the fort.