Fort Ashby
Encyclopedia
Fort Ashby is a historic stockade fort
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

 located in Fort Ashby, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

. A military installation constructed during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

In 1755, Colonel George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 gave orders to build a stockade and fort on the East Side of Pattersons Creek. On Christmas Day, 1755, Captain Charles Lewis of Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...

 took command of the fort and a garrison of twenty-one men. He had orders from Colonel Washington to remain quiet as long as he could and to hold the fort as long as possible, but if necessary rather than surrender, he should burn it and try to escape to Fort Sellers
Fort Sellers
Fort Sellers was a small stockade on the east side of Pattersons Creek at the conflunce with the Potomac River, in Franklin District, in present day Mineral County, West Virginia. Thisfort was erected by Colonel Washington....

 on the east side of mouth of Patterson’s Creek. The only major battle at Fort Ashby occurred in 1756 when Lieutenant Robert Rutherford
Robert Rutherford
Robert Rutherford was an American pioneer, soldier and statesman from western Virginia. He represented Virginia in the United States House of Representatives from 1793 until 1797....

 and his rangers were defeated by a band of French and Indians. During the siege, Colonel John Ashby
John Ashby (militiaman)
John Ashby was a Colonel in the Virginia Militia.During the French and Indian war there was a siege at present day Fort Ashby, West Virginia. In 1756 Colonel John Ashby was out of the fort at that location and was attacked by Indians and made a remarkable escape to the fort. The fort was named for...

, who was out of the fort, was attacked by Indians and made a remarkable escape to the fort. It is from this incident that the name was applied.

The Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....

 own Fort Ashby. The museum is open for special events and by appointment only.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1970.

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