This historic bridge crossed Antietam Creek on the turnpike
leading from Boonsboro to Sharpsburg. It is one of the memorable
spots in the history of the war. The photograph was taken soon after the battle of Antietam; the overturned stone wall and shattered fences, together with the appearance of the adjacent ground, are mute
witnesses of the conflict that raged about it on September 16-17, 1862,
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when the control of this bridge was important to both McClellan and Lee. The former held it during the battle; and the fire of his artillery from the ridges near the bridge enabled the disordered Union lines to recover in time to check the ferocious assaults of the Confederates.
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