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. Constructed in 1836 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...