BGuthrie Photos: MD -- Antietam Natl Battlefield -- Lower Bridge (Burnside Bridge/Flank Attack)

MD -- Antietam Natl Battlefield -- Lower Bridge (Burnside Bridge/Flank Attack):

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. ANTILO_160402_005.JPG: The Burnside Bridge: Known as the Rohrbach Bridge before the battle, it was renamed for General Ambrose Burnside who commanded the Union soldiers who fought to take this crucial Antietam crossing during the battle. This bridge is one of several bridges that Washington County constructed as part of a project that spanned a 40 year period. Designed and built by John Weaver at a cost of $2,300, the bridge connected Sharpsburg with Rohrersville, the next town to the south. It was completed in 1836 and was actively used for traffic until 1966. In an effort to preserve the bridge, a bypass was built to take cars across a new bridge upstream. At the same time the four monuments that had been mounted on the bridge were removed and relocated to the east bank. The wooden coping was restored and the asphalt removed. Just to your right is the McKinley Monument, dedicated to the 24th President. William McKinley was a Commissary Sergeant with the 23rd Ohio of Colonel Hugh Ewing's Brigade. During the battle, Sergeant McKinley bravely served the soldiers in his regiment in the fields to your right. After the war, McKinley served as a Congressman and Governor of Ohio. He was twice elected as President before he was shot by Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York on September 6, 1901. The President survived for eight days before succumbing to his wound on September 14th. Just over a year before his death, McKinley was here for the dedication of the Maryland State Monument, near the visitor center. President John F. Kennedy toured Antietam on April 7, 1963. He wrote that "Antietam symbolizes something even more important than combat heroism and military strategy. It marks a diplomatic turning point of world-wide consequence. From this point onward our Civil War had a new dimension which was important to the whole course of human liberty."
2. ANTILO_160402_010.JPG: Edwin Forbes sketch of the fighting at the bridge Cars used the bridge until 1966. Alexander Gardner took this photograph of the bridge just after the battle.
3. ANTILO_160402_013.JPG: Just to your right is the McKinley Monument, dedicated to the 24th President. William McKinley was a Commissary Sergeant with the 23rd Ohio of Colonel Hugh Ewing's Brigade. During the battle, Sergeant McKinley bravely served the soldiers in his regiment in the fields to your right. After the war, McKinley served as a Congressman and Governor of Ohio. He was twice elected as President before he was shot by Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York on September 6, 1901. The President survived for eight days before succumbing to his wound on September 14th. Just over a year before his death, McKinley was here for the dedication of the Maryland State Monument, near the visitor center. President John F. Kennedy toured Antietam on April 7, 1963. He wrote that "Antietam symbolizes something even more important than combat heroism and military strategy. It marks a diplomatic turning point of world-wide consequence. From this point onward our Civil War had a new dimension which was important to the whole course of human liberty."
4. ANTILO_160402_016.JPG: The Burnside Bridge: Known as the Rohrbach Bridge before the battle, it was renamed for General Ambrose Burnside who commanded the Union soldiers who fought to take this crucial Antietam crossing during the battle. This bridge is one of several bridges that Washington County constructed as part of a project that spanned a 40 year period. Designed and built by John Weaver at a cost of $2,300, the bridge connected Sharpsburg with Rohrersville, the next town to the south. It was completed in 1836 and was actively used for traffic until 1966. In an effort to preserve the bridge, a bypass was built to take cars across a new bridge upstream. At the same time the four monuments that had been mounted on the bridge were removed and relocated to the east bank. The wooden coping was restored and the asphalt removed.
5. ANTILO_160402_020.JPG: A Crucial Crossing, a General's Namesake, a Battlefield Icon Known at the time of the battle as the Rohrbach or Lower Bridge, this picturesque crossing over Antietam Creek was built in 1836 to connect Sharpsburg with Rohrersville, the next town to the south. It was actively used for traffic until 1966 when a bypass enabled the bridge to be restored to its 1862 appearance. For more than three hours on September 17, 1862, Confederate Gen. Robert Toombs and fewer than 500 Georgia soldiers manned this imposing position against three Federal assaults made by Gen. Ambrose Burnside's much larger Ninth Corps. Confederate General James Longstreet wrote of the action, "Gen. Toombs held the bridge and defended it most gallantly, driving back repeated attacks, and only yielded it after the force brought against him became overwhelming and threatened his flank and rear." About 1:00 p.m., with Union soldiers crossing downstream and another attack made on the bridge, Toombs and his men had to retreat. However, the strong delaying action provided much needed time to allow Gen. A.P. Hill's Confederate soldiers, marching from Harpers Ferry to arrive on the field.
6. ANTILO_160402_023.JPG: Gen. Ambrose Burnside and a historic image of the bridge that, since the battle, bears his name.
7. ANTILO_160402_025.JPG: Kutz & Allison lithograph from 1888. Postcard from the 1930s. Cars used the bridge and road for travel and parking in the 1940s and 1950s. Family visit in the early 1960s. Many floods, but the bridge survives. A fifty cent piece created by the US Mint to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the battle. Today the bridge has been restored and preserved for future generations.
8. ANTILO_160402_032.JPG: Repulsed Again and Again Gen. David R. Jones, Longstreet's Command (1) Throughout the early hours of the battle, Confederate Gen. Lee moved soldiers from this part of his line north toward the Cornfield and the West Woods. This shift resulted in one division, numbering about 3,000 men and commanded by Gen. David R. Jones, holding the southern end of Lee's line. (2) Fewer than 500 Confederate troops, commanded by Gen. Robert Toombs, lined Antietam Creek from this point southward to Snavely Ford. Col. Henry Benning commanded the men that were here guarding the bridge. A Union soldier, who attempted to cross the span, remembered that the Confederates "were snugly ensconced in their rude but substantial breastworks, in quarry holes, behind high ranks of cordwood, logs, stone piles, etc." (3) At about 9:30 a.m., the first of three major Federal assaults to take the bridge moved forward. The first attack, Toombs reported, "was repulsed with great slaughter and at regular intervals ... other attempts of the same kind, all of which were gallantly met and successfully repulsed..." After defending the area for over three hours, the Confederates began to run low on ammunition. (4) A Union division, commanded by Gen. Isaac P. Rodman, moved downstream in an attempt to ford the Antietam. The combination of Rodman's troops crossing Snavely Ford on their flank, depleted ammunition, and a third Federal assault toward the bridge, eventually forced Toombs' men from their overlook. At about 1:00 p.m. the Confederates pulled back toward the Harpers Ferry Road to await the final Union attack. Confederate Defenders Gen. David R. Jones This thirty-seven year old graduate of West Point was the division commander responsible for the Confederate right flank. He wrote that "on that morning my entire command of six brigades comprised only 2,430 men, the enormous disparity of force with which I contended can be seen." Jones' soldiers killed his brother-in-law, Col. Henry Kingsbury, who led the first Union attack on the bridge. Jones died four months after the battle from heart disease. Gen. Robert A. Toombs Fifty-two year old Toombs was a U.S. Congressman and Senator from Georgia. He served briefly as Confederate Secretary of State before resigning to take a military command. Toombs wrote in his official battle report that "the enemy were compelled to approach mainly by the road which led up the river for near 300 paces, parallel with my line of battle... exposing his flank to a destructive fire for most of that distance." Col. Henry L. Benning Nicknamed the "Rock," Benning was a lawyer, legislator, and justice on the Georgia Supreme Court before the war. Forty-eight years old at Antietam, Col. Benning commanded the troops defending the bridge. He stated: "During that long and terrible fire not a man, except a wounded one, fell out and went to the rear - not a man. The loss of the enemy was heavy. Near the bridge they lay in heaps." Fort Benning in Georgia is named for him. Bridge of Destiny Approximate Time of Action: 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Approximate Number of Soldiers engaged: Union 5,200 Confederate 500 Total 5,700 Approximate Number of Casualties for Each Army: Union Army of the Potomac 500 killed, wounded, missing Confederate Army of Northern Virginia 120 killed, wounded, missing
9. ANTILO_160402_035.JPG: Confederate Defenders Gen. David R. Jones This thirty-seven year old graduate of West Point was the division commander responsible for the Confederate right flank. He wrote that "on that morning my entire command of six brigades comprised only 2,430 men, the enormous disparity of force with which I contended can be seen." Jones' soldiers killed his brother-in-law, Col. Henry Kingsbury, who led the first Union attack on the bridge. Jones died four months after the battle from heart disease. Gen. Robert A. Toombs Fifty-two year old Toombs was a U.S. Congressman and Senator from Georgia. He served briefly as Confederate Secretary of State before resigning to take a military command. Toombs wrote in his official battle report that "the enemy were compelled to approach mainly by the road which led up the river for near 300 paces, parallel with my line of battle... exposing his flank to a destructive fire for most of that distance." Col. Henry L. Benning Nicknamed the "Rock," Benning was a lawyer, legislator, and justice on the Georgia Supreme Court before the war. Forty-eight years old at Antietam, Col. Benning commanded the troops defending the bridge. He stated: "During that long and terrible fire not a man, except a wounded one, fell out and went to the rear - not a man. The loss of the enemy was heavy. Near the bridge they lay in heaps." Fort Benning in Georgia is named for him. Bridge of Destiny Approximate Time of Action: 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Approximate Number of Soldiers engaged: Union 5,200 Confederate 500 Total 5,700 Approximate Number of Casualties for Each Army: Union Army of the Potomac 500 killed, wounded, missing Confederate Army of Northern Virginia 120 killed, wounded, missing
10. ANTILO_160402_041.JPG: Repair work continues
11. ANTILO_160402_057.JPG: The Burnside Bridge is closed for major repairs to the historic structure. The bridge was built in 1836 and was made famous during the Battle of Antietam. In January of 2014, a section of the stone facing on the upstream side of the bridge collapsed into Antietam Creek. Temporary repairs were made and an engineering assessment of the entire structure was undertaken. The investigation revealed substantial deterioration of the walls and significant water infiltration contributing to the structure instability of the bridge. In addition, the bridge piers have voids that need to be filled to stabilize the structure. The $1.7 million preservation project to insure the iconic bridges long term structural stability will be completed in two phases. Phase I will primarily focus on in-stream work to strengthen the stone piers and arches. Portable dams will be installed in the creek to divert the water during this phase and work will continue through fall. Phase II will begin in early spring with repairs that require selectively dismantling and rebuilding sections of the bridge walls. The contract will be managed by the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center.
12. ANTILO_160402_085.JPG: No. 366. C.S.A. On the morning of September 17, 1862, this bridge was defended by the 2nd and 20th Georgia of Toombs' Brigade and the 50th Georgia of Drayton's Brigade. The 20th Georgia was on the high wooded bluff immediately opposite this end of the bridge; and the 2nd and 50th Georgia in open order, supported by one Company of Jenkins' S.C. Brigade, continued the line to Snavely's Ford. One Company of the 20th Georgia was was on the narrow wooded strip north of this point between the creek and the Sharpsburg Road. Richardson's Battery of the Washington Artillery was posted on the high ground about 500 yards northwest and Eubank's (Va.) Battery on the bluff north of and overlooking the bridge. The Artillery on Cemetery Hill commanded the bridge and the road to Sharpsburg. At 9 A.M. Crooks Brigade of the Ninth Corps, moving from the ridge northeast of the bridge, attempted to cross it but failed. Soon after, the 2nd Maryland and 6th New Hampshire, of Nagle's Brigade, charging by the road from the south were repulsed. At 1 P.M. the bridge was carried by an assault of Ferrero's Brigade and the defenders, after a vain effort to check Rodman's Division, moving by Snavely's Ford on their right flank, fell back to the Antietam Furnace Road and reformed on the outskirts of the town of Sharpsburg.
13. ANTILO_160613_029.JPG: The Burnside Bridge is closed for major repairs to the historic structure. The bridge was built in 1836 and was made famous during the Battle of Antietam. In January of 2014, a section of the stone facing on the upstream side of the bridge collapsed into Antietam Creek. Temporary repairs were made and an engineering assessment of the entire structure was undertaken. The investigation revealed substantial deterioration of the walls and significant water infiltration contributing to the structure instability of the bridge. In addition, the bridge piers have voids that need to be filled to stabilize the structure. The $1.7 million preservation project to insure the iconic bridges long term structural stability will be completed in two phases. Phase I will primarily focus on in-stream work to strengthen the stone piers and arches. Portable dams will be installed in the creek to divert the water during this phase and work will continue through fall. Phase II will begin in early spring with repairs that require selectively dismantling and rebuilding sections of the bridge walls. The contract will be managed by the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center.
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Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [(NPS) Antietam Natl Battlefield] [Display ALL (NPS) Antietam Natl Battlefield photos] [Civil War] [Park (National Park Service)]
2016 photos: Seven relatively short trips this year: two Civil War Trust conference (Gettysburg, PA and West Point, NY, with a side-trip to New York City), my 11th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including sites in Utah, Nevada, and California), a quick trip to Michigan for Uncle Wayne's funeral, two additional trips to New York City, and a Civil Rights site trip to Alabama during the November elections. Being in places where people died to preserve the rights of minority voters made the Trumputin election even more depressing. Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000. Number of photos taken this year: just over 610,000.
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