Today marks the 159th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam that occurred in Sharpsburg, Maryland
The Battle of Antietam pitted Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia against Union General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac and was the culmination of Lee’s attempt to invade the north. The battle was the deadliest one-day battle in all of American military history. The Battle of Antietam changed the course of the Civil War as well as America’s future with a Union victory.
The Burnside Bridge was folded into National Park Service holdings as a primary attraction of the Antietam National Battlefield and has been a favorite destination for historians and tourists alike since 1966 when it was finally closed to vehicle traffic. After decades of heavy local traffic, expected wear and tear, and a handful of partial restoration attempts, a more extensive restoration effort became unavoidable after a portion of its wall fell into the Antietam Creek below. The Witmer Group had the privilege to contribute to this significant historic salvation by repointing abutments, piers, and arch soffits, underpinning existing footings, providing grout infill of pier voids, adding additional support with stainless steel tie rods, and dismantling and re-building parapets and spandrel stone walls.
This video provides a visual through the history of the Burnside Bridge and the restorative solutions The Witmer Group provided to protect the history’s significance for years to come.
