A Crucial Crossing, a General’s Namesake, a Battlefield Icon

A Crucial Crossing, a General’s Namesake, a Battlefield Icon. . , Known at the time of the battle as the Rohrbach or Lower Bridge, this picturesque crossing over Antietam Creek was built in 1836 to connect Sharpsburg with Rohrersville, the next town to the south. It was actively used for traffic until 1966 when a bypass enabled the bridge to be restored to its 1862 appearance., For more than three hours on September 17, 1862, Confederate Gen. Robert Toombs and fewer than 500 Georgia soldiers manned this imposing position against three Federal assaults made by Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s much larger Ninth Corps. Confederate General James Longstreet wrote of the action, “Gen. Toombs held the bridge and defended it most gallantly, driving back repeated attacks, and only yielded it after the force brought against him became overwhelming and threatened his flank and rear.”, About 1:00 p.m., with Union soldiers crossing downstream and another attack made on the bridge, Toombs and his men had to retreat. However, the strong delaying action provided much needed time to allow Gen. A.P. Hill’s Confederate soldiers, marching from Harpers Ferry, to arrive on the field.

(captions) , Gen. Ambrose Burnside and a historic image of the bridge that, since the battle, bears his name., Kurz and Allison lithograph from 1888. , Postcard from the 1930s. , Cars used the bridge and road for travel and parking in the 1940s and 1950s. , Family visit in the early 1960s. , Many floods, but the bridge survives. , A fifty cent piece created by the U.S. Mint to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the battle. , Today the bridge has been restored and preserved for future generations.