Burnside Bridge over Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland, summer 2008.
On September 17, 1862, a small contingent of Confederate soldiers dug in on the bluff above Burnside’s Bridge held off for several hours a much larger force of Union soldiers under General Ambrose Burnside that repeatedly tried to capture the bridge. Antietam Creek was said to run red with the blood of Union soldiers who were wounded or died during the assault.
In this photo, taken from the Union side of the battle, the bluff is obscured by the trees at the right.
Photo of the bridge in 1862 at the Smithsonian Institution.
