Historic Sachs Covered Bridge

Historic Sachs Covered Bridge. . , Pennsylvania's Most Historic Bridge , the 100-foot bridge was built by workers under David Stoner between 1852 and 1854, with its design being based on the truss-lattice support designs of Connecticut architect and civil engineer Ithiel Town. The bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic since 1968. , In 1938 the Sachs Covered Bridge was declared Pennsylvania's "most historic bridge" by the Pennsylvania Department of Highways, the predecessor of the current Department of Transportation. It received the distinction due in part to its connection to the Battle of Gettysburg but also because of the uniqueness of its design, being one of the few covered bridges of this type in the area. Later, on August 25, 1980, the Sachs Covered Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places., On June 19, 1996, the bridge was heavily damaged by a flash flood which knocked the bridge from one of its abutments and carried it almost 100 yards downstream. Thanks to the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association (GBPA) the bridge was already undergoing a $500,000 restoration at the time of the flood. Afterwards the GBPA worked to raise another $100,000 to cover the additional repairs needed. With 90% of its original truss and lattice intact and additional, but hidden steel support beams, the Sachs Covered Bridge was rededicated on July 21, 1997., The Sachs Bridge and the Battle of Gettysburg , July 1, 1863 the Sachs bridge was crossed by the I Corp of the Union army heading towards Gettysburg. The III Corp also crossed the bridge on their way to Black Horse Tavern., After the Confederate loss on July 3 General Lee called for his army's retreat back to Virginia. He had lost 28,000 of his 80,000 men and they were low on both ammunition and food in enemy territory. All of the wounded Confederate soldiers who were well enough to travel joined the wagon train retreating from Gettysburg. Those who could not be moved were left behind to be captured and cared for by the Union army. The retreating men and wagons, being guarded by brigades from both General Imboden and Jeb Stuart, made up the estimated seventeen-mile-long procession that headed west to Cashtown and then took the southern roads to Marion, a village south of Chambersburg. They reached the Potomac River late on July 5. , On July 4, while the wagon train was still crossing the mountains at Cashtown, the remaining bulk of General Lee's army left the battlefield and crossed the Sachs Covered Bridge and headed towards the Fairfield Road, which is today's Route 116. It then moved on to Fairfield where the army divided and crossed the mountains through passes at Fairfield and Monterey. It took until July 13 and 14 for the Confederate army to finally cross the Potomac after Union forces destroyed the Confederate pontoon bridge, forcing Lee's troops to entrench themselves in a defensive position in Williamsport until they could rebuild the bridge. Lee's escape to Virginia ended the major part of the Gettysburg Campaign. , Marker provided by Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association - gbpa.org, (Sidebar): , Coordinates - 39° 47' 50.5"N, 77° 16' 34" W , Carries - Waterworks Road (TR 509 / TR 405) , Crosses - Marsh Creek , Locale - Adams, Pennsylvania, United States , Maintained by - Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association - Adams County , WGCB # - 38-01-01, Characteristics , Total Length - 100ft (30 m) , Width - 15.3 ft (4.7 m) , , History , Constructed by - David S. Stoner , Built - 1854 , Closed - May 9, 1968, U.S. National Register of Historic Places MPS , Covered Bridges of Adams, Cumberland, and Perry Counties TR , NRHP Reference No. 80003395 , Added to NHRP - August 25, 1980