Burnside Bridge at Antietam Battlefield
Photo taken by J. Bearden
View this photo at panoramio.com
BH Photo #266936
Constructed in 1836[1] of area limestone and granite by local Dunker farmers, the three-arched, 12-foot (3.7 m)-wide, 125-foot (38 m)-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.
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. ~ SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnside%27s_Bridge
The Burnside Bridge was built at a cost of $2,300 by John Weaver and was originally called the Rohersbach Bridge. In 1862 it gained lasting fame during The Battle of Antietam. A small force of Confederate riflemen held General Ambrose Burnside’s entire Army Corps at bay for over four hours, giving reinforcements from Harper’s Ferry time to reach General Lee. Every year thousands of visitors from all over the world cross the authentically restored 125-foot bridge, with its sand-and-gravel roadbed and wooden parapets. A large, carefully maintained sycamore “Witness Tree” overlooks the bridge, one of 16 “living witnesses” to momentous events on this and other Civil War battlefields. ~ SOURCE: http://bridges.marylandmemories.org/burnside.html
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-antietam-bur... SHARPSBURG, Md. (AP) — The National Park Services says it's closing the landmark Burnside Bridge at the Antietam National Battlefield for major repairs that will continue at least into next spring.
Park managers said Thursday they will close the bridge Friday for the $1.7 million preservation project.
Problems surfaced in January 2014 when some stones from the bridge fell into Antietam Creek. Temporary repairs were made but the park service says its investigation revealed substantial deterioration and structural instability.
A little "fun fact" about the man this bridge is named after:
Ambrose Burnside was well known for his misadventures in leadership during the Civil War, but it would be his unique facial hair extensions for which his name is associated..... sort of........
Burnside was flipped around to become side-burns.