Burnside's Bridge

Burnside's Bridge is a landmark on the Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Crossing over Antietam Creek, the bridge played a key role in the September 1862 Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War when a small number of Confederate soldiers from Georgia for several hours held off repeated attempts by elements of the Union Army to take the bridge by force. Finally, the Federals seized it, but not before the attack had been delayed for several hours beyond what had been expected by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside. The bridge now bears Burnside's name. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Antietam National Battlefield is a unit of the National Park Service in Sharpsburg, Maryland, along Antietam Creek. ... Sharpsburg is a town located in Washington County, Maryland. ... Burnside Bridge traversing Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland, site of heavy combat during the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) on September 17, 1862 Antietam Creek is a tributary of the Potomac River located in south central Pennsylvania and western Maryland in the United States. ... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee Strength 87,000 45,000 Casualties 12,401 (2,108 killed, 1,000,289 wounded, 753 captured/missing) 10,316 (1,546 killed, 7,752 wounded, 1,018 captured/missing) The Battle of Antietam... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... Some Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army (CSA) was formed in February 1861 to defend the Confederate States of America, which had itself been formed that same year when seven Southern states seceded from the United States (four more states soon followed). ... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was a railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator. ...

Constructed of area limestone and granite by local Dunker farmers, the three-arched, 12-foot-wide, 125-foot-long bridge provided a passageway over Antietam Creek for farmers to take their produce and livestock to market in Sharpsburg. It was originally named the Lower Bridge, as there were two others (Upper Bridge and Middle Bridge) upstream that also allowed movement of freight, animals, and people across the creek. The Lower Bridge took on the name Rohrbach's Bridge after a farmer, Henry Rohrbach, who lived near the structure. Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory. ... The Church of God (New Dunkers) is a now extinct body that divided from the Schwarzenau Brethren (also called German Baptist Brethren) in 1848. ...

After the war, the U.S. Government acquired the bridge and adjoining land. Vehicular traffic across the bridge was stopped and the original farm lanes allowed to grow over with grass. Foot traffic is still allowed across the structure, which remains as one of the most photographed bridges of the Civil War.