Signal Knob, the northern peak of Massanutten Mountain in Virginia’s Ridge and Valley Appalachians, overlooks the northern Shenandoah Valley and became a strategically important Civil War observation point. Used by both sides but held mostly by Confederates from 1862 to 1864, it enabled signalmen to track Union movements and relay messages to other stations with flags, lanterns, and telescopes. Union troops briefly captured the summit on August 14, 1864, but withdrew after failing to hold it. In October 1864, Major General John Brown Gordon studied Union positions from here while planning the Confederate attack at Cedar Creek. Civil War fortifications still remain there today.

Strasburg, Virginia · USA