Burnside Bridge: TLC and lots of work go into preservation of Antietam landmark

Stones on walls were marked for guide when they are reinstalled (NPS photos)

Extensive work on the famous Burnside Bridge at Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland is nearing the one-year mark, and officials expect it to continue until the end of the year.

The $1.7 million preservation project is bringing repairs and stabilization to the stone structure, which was built in 1836.

Park Superintendent Susan Trail responded Friday to the Picket’s questions about the bridge project. She said the project is going “very well.”

Temporary dams were built for work on eroded pier bases. 

Q.  You said the piers would be repointed and the voids filled with grouts. Has that been completed? Was that the extent of the work on the piers?

A. All of the pier work was completed in late winter. The work was extensive, as concrete ribbon footers had to be poured for each due to extensive erosion.

Q. I saw some Facebook photos (above) last week of work on top of the bridge. What's that work? Looks like maybe some wall reconstruction and a new walking surface?

A. Most of the work on the stone bridge involved dismantling substantial sections and rebuilding them. This is the work that is going on right now. The wall sections were photographed and mapped, so that the stones could be returned to their exact locations prior to the dismantling. The repaving will happen later this fall when the stone work is complete.

Q. Can you briefly summarize what all has been addressed in this restoration/preservation effort?

A. The project addressed substantial voids and erosion in the two piers and the two abutments. It also addressed unstable parapet and spandrel walls that had deteriorated over the years, due primarily to water infiltration. It also will include new wood coping and asphalt paving, which will be done this fall.

East bridge abutment

Q. What do you hope will be the long-term benefit of the work?

A. This project will keep the bridge standing in good condition for decades to come.

Q. Anything unexpected come up during the construction/repairs?

A. The biggest unforeseen condition was the severe erosion of the pier bases, as this could not be seen before the project started.

On Sept. 17, 1862, America's bloodiest single day, a small force of Confederates on high ground for three hours defended the critical crossing against troops belonging to Ambrose E. Burnside's 9th Corps.

Portion of bridge that bulged, needed repairs

Critics say Burnside did not do adequate reconnaissance before the attack, which cost him about 500 casualties. 

"After taking the bridge at about 1 p.m., Burnside reorganized for two hours before moving forward across the arduous terrain -- a critical delay. Finally, the advance started -- only to be turned back by Confederate General A.P. Hill’s reinforcements that arrived in the late afternoon from Harpers Ferry," according to the NPS.

After the battle, the bridge was actively used for traffic until as recently as 1966, according to the NPS. The last significant work occurred in the late 1980s.

Update on Burnside Bridge, Observation Tower repairs at Antietam National Battlefield

Roof repair on Observation Tower (NPS)

The Picket reported last week that the Burnside Bridge at Antietam will undergo an extensive repair and stabilization project. The structure closed over the weekend.

Officials at Antietam National Battlefield say the Observation Tower at the Maryland park also is closed. The 60-foot stone tower should reopen the first week of November following roof repairs.

Superintendent Susan Trail responded Tuesday to the Picket’s questions about the bridge restoration project.

Q. When do you expect people will be able to walk over Burnside Bridge again?

A. The bridge is now closed to pedestrian traffic and we anticipate the first phase of the project to end sometime around the end of the calendar year, but much depends upon the weather. The bridge will reopen at that time and remain open until the second phase begins in early spring. Then we anticipate it to remain closed through the summer.

Q. The National Park Service plans in-stream work to strengthen the stone piers. Does that mean rebuilding the piers? 

A. Voids in the piers will be grouted and the piers will be repointed. They will not be rebuilt.

Q. What kind of stones make up the bridge? Are they local, or would you need to bring new ones in, if required?

A. The bridge is constructed of local limestone. At this time we do not anticipate having to bring in additional stone, but we will not know until the work is underway.

Q. Will the closure of the bridge change the park's interpretation in the area?

A. Visitors can still walk down to the bridge. It should not impact interpretation in this area too much, except that visitors will not be able to cross the bridge.

Antietam's Burnside Bridge closing Saturday for repairs on walls, arches and piers

Damage to upstream wall in January 2014 (NPS)

A $1.7 million project will stabilize Antietam National Battlefield’s iconic Burnside Bridge, which lost a section of stone wall in January 2014 after the bitter “polar vortex."

Temporary repairs were made, but a deeper engineering assessment found the 12-feet wide by 125-feet-long stone has substantial deterioration of the walls and significant water infiltration, the park in western Maryland said in a Wednesday press release.

The bridge over Antietam Creek will close Saturday (Oct. 10). It was not immediately clear when the pedestrian structure is expected to reopen.

The investigation also found that the instability extended to bridge piers with voids that need to be filled, officials said.

Phase 1 of the preservation will focus on strengthening the stone piers and arches, the National Park Service said. Portable dams will be installed in the creek to divert the water. Phase II will begin in early spring with repairs that require selectively dismantling and rebuilding sections of the bridge walls.

Superintendent Susan Trail last year told the Picket that rapid freezing and thawing after weather systems likely added to the natural wear on the stones.

NPS photo

Originally known as Rohrbach's or Lower Bridge, the battlefield landmark was built in 1836 by John Weaver at a cost of $3,200 as a wagon, horse and foot crossing southeast of Sharpsburg.

On Sept. 17, 1862, America's bloodiest single day, a small force of Confederates on high ground for three hours defended the critical crossing against troops belonging to Ambrose E. Burnside's 9th Corps.

“Topography at the site heavily favored the few hundred Confederates who defended it. The road approaching the east end of the bridge swung on a course paralleling that of Antietam Creek; in the last few hundred yards before reaching the bridge, the road plunged into a funnel-like depression between the opposing bluffs of the creek,” the NPS says. 

“Confederate troops were in rifle pits on the west bluff overlooking the bridge and the approach road.”

Critics say Burnside did not do adequate reconnaissance before the attack, which cost him about 500 casualties. 

"After taking the bridge at about 1 p.m., Burnside reorganized for two hours before moving forward across the arduous terrain -- a critical delay. Finally, the advance started only to be turned back by Confederate General A.P. Hill’s reinforcements that arrived in the late afternoon from Harpers Ferry," according to the NPS.

Gen. Robert E. Lee's army was saved, but he had to end his Maryland invasion and return to Virginia.

After the battle, the bridge was actively used for traffic until as recently as 1966, according to the NPS. The last significant work occurred in the late 1980s.

Outer Banks exhibit: Of farms, fishing, freedmen -- and the Civil War

Miles Creef’s family has plucked seafood from the brackish sounds of North Carolina’s Outer Banks for generations, scooping up oysters, shad and larger fish within sight of vacation homes. From mid-April to mid-June, fishermen net female “soft shell” Blue crabs, a delicacy often served up on sandwiches.

Creef’s great-great-grandfather, Nathaniel Shannon, made his living by farming and fishing.

Like many residents of Roanoke Island, Shannon felt a kinship with shipping centers along the East Coast.

“It was easier to sail to Baltimore than to get to Raleigh,” said Sarah Downing, assistant curator of the Outer Banks History Center, located on an island best known as the location of Sir Walter Raleigh's "Lost Colony" in the late 16th century.

The family’s quiet way of life was disturbed in February 1862, when an expedition under Union Brig. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside (below) sailed to the sparsely-populated island, beginning a bombardment (above) of a much smaller Confederate force.

Nathaniel Shannon, a widower with a boy and girl, decided to act.

“To avoid the fighting, he was forced to move out of his house. Family lore said he carried my great-grandfather (John) in his arms across the island,” said Creef, who lives in Wanchese, on the south end of Roanoke.

Creef’s ancestors are among those featured in an exhibit, “The Civil War Comes to Roanoke Island: Fishers, Fighters, & Freedmen,” which opened earlier this month at the history center in Manteo and runs through Dec. 30.

It aims to tell the stories of local watermen and farmers, sailors
and soldiers, and thousands of blacks who flocked to the island for protection during the Union occupation.

Burnside's expedition had several Confederate installations as objectives, including Roanoke.

“The Confederates were fortifying the island. They knew how important it was to control the island and waterways,” Downing told the Picket.

Burnside had about 7,500 troops at his disposal for the landing. They were pitted against forces under Brig. Gen. Henry Wise, former Virginia governor (left).

The Federals, following a bombardment, landed Feb. 7 on the southwestern side of Roanoke Island in an amphibious operation.

“The next morning, supported by gunboats, the Federals assaulted the Confederate forts on the narrow waist of the island, driving back and out-maneuvering Wise’s outnumbered command,” reads a National Park Service summary of the battle. “After losing less than 100 men, the Confederate commander on the field, Col. H.M. Shaw, surrendered about 2,500 soldiers and 32 guns. Burnside had secured an important outpost on the Atlantic Coast, tightening the blockade.”

Union losses were 37 dead, 214 wounded and 13 missing, for a total of 264. The Confederates suffered 23 dead and 58 wounded before the surrender.

Among those in the Confederate force was Creef’s great-great uncle, a member of the 8th North Carolina Infantry.

Roanoke Island, and several other islands and cities on the Outer Banks, remained under Union occupation for the balance of the war. “The Union commandeered all the housing for their officers,” said Creef.

During that time, Roanoke Island became home to thousands of blacks, both free and former slaves, who flocked to the area for protection during uncertain war times. Some of the land used for the colony was taken from local fishermen.

“Representatives of the national Freedmen’s Bureau, assisted by northern missionaries, worked at settling, educating and employing the freedmen, in one of the greatest social experiments of its time,” according to the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.

Labeling the slaves as “Contraband of War”, the Union Army emancipated them, offering a new start on the island, the park service says. As many as 4,000 former slaves lived on the island.

They assisted the Union troops in rebuilding forts on Roanoke and Hatteras Islands as well as New Bern and other strategic areas in North Carolina. They also served as cooks, woodcutters, teamsters, longshoremen, carpenters, and blacksmiths. The colony, however, never became truly self-sufficient. (National Park Service photo below of typical Freedmen's Colony school)

Descendants of many freedmen live on Roanoke Island and neighboring communities today.

Nathanial Shannon never did move back to his old home when the war ended. Years after the war, the Southern Claims Commission awarded him $100 in restitution, although Creef, 57, does not know whether it was for the home the family lost or for timber or other farm products.

Creef has spent several years studying his family’s genealogy.

“Every bit of the history intrigues me," he told the Picket.

Downing said the small exhibit includes farming artifacts and items from the Battle of Roanoke Island, including bullets, buckles and artillery rounds. It also features a film and examples of camp life.

The Outer Banks History Center, more of an archives and research center than a museum, reaches out to both tourists who flock to nearby beaches and residents.

“So many visitors had no idea any Civil War activity took place in this area," Downing said.

Bombardment illustration and map courtesy of Outer Banks History Center collections. The free exhibit is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, 1 Festival Park Boulevard, Manteo, NC 27954.

• Outer Banks History Center

Ambrose Burnside: A likeable bumbler

Behind those fierce muttonchops, a less-confident Ambrose Everett Burnside resided.

I’ve been tracking the Union general the past few weeks, through the written word and a visit to hallowed ground.

I'm reading “The Horrid Pit,” wich details the fiasco at the Crater during the Petersburg siege in summer 1864.

Burnside, commander of the Army of the Potomac’s IX Corps, approved a subordinate’s idea of blowing a line in the Confederate defenses, followed by a sweeping attack that would roll up Lee’s exhausted army and perhaps end the war.

It did not end that way. Poor communication with his superiors and subordinates turned the assault into a disaster, with Union troops cowering in the Crater and Rebels pouring hot lead into them.

A subsequent inquiry and Gen. Ulysses Grant’s anger at Burnside basically finished his military career.

Things appeared much brighter two years earlier, when Burnside earned a few small victories and led an assault late on Sept. 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek.

Just this week, I made a brief tour of the Antietam battlefield, spending a few moments at Burnside Bridge, where the general’s troops finally squeezed their way across the stone bridge, pushing pesky Georgians from their deadly perch.

Critics say Burnside did not do adequate reconnaissance before the attack, and commander Gen. George B. McClellan told an aide, “Tell him if it costs 10,000 men he must go now."

At the moment Union army appeared poised to shatter the weary Confederate right, A.P. Hill’s men arrived from Harpers Ferry, West Va., and stalled the assault. Lee’s army was saved.

Months later, Abraham Lincoln put Burnside in charge of the entire army, a command Burnside knew he was not qualified to lead. Burnside sent wave after wave of men to their deaths at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Born in Indiana, the general was a West Pointer who fought in the Mexican War. He went bankrupt after getting into the carbine-manufacturing business in the 1850s. He saved the family’s finances by working for railroads before the Civil War.

Alan Axelrod, author of “The Horrid Pit,” describes Burnside this way:

“Ambrose Burnside did not seem a man spun on the wheel of tragedy. Far from it. Dark he most certainly was not. His popularity sprang not just from his concern for his command, but from his all-around likeability. Happy-go-luck, many called him.”

Grant called Burnside liked and respected, but unfit to command an army. Burnside, known to be obstinate and unimaginative, agreed. He probably should never have been promoted beyond colonel.

Often, it seemed, he was the victim of plain bad luck.

Author Jeffrey Wert wrote this about the general’s demotion after Fredericksburg: “[Burnside] had been the most unfortunate commander of the Army, a general who had been cursed by succeeding its most popular leader and a man who believed he was unfit for the post. His tenure had been marked by bitter animosity among his subordinates and a fearful, if not needless, sacrifice of life.”

Burnside, who died at 57 in 1881, got back into railroad work after the war. His legacy is the term “sideburns,” a play of his name and distinctive facial hair.

I don’t know exactly why I am drawn to Burnside. He was simple, honest and friendly. Although much of his legacy is bleeding his troops, I find him to be a sympathetic everyman who got swept into circumstances that were just too much for him.