"Where in North America?" --- Section III

[Mark Sedenquist]

Don,

That might be the nicest view of the Knight's Ferry Bridge I've ever seen. The construction technique IS very similar -- I wonder if it was built by the same company?

....all the gas blew east up-canyon.

And it didn't dissipate over that distance -- Yeah, that would have been very surprising to be swimming in the pool and getting gassed.

Hint #2: The Knight's Ferry Bridge is two years older than the subject of this puzzle.... and they share at least one more common element....

Mark

[CalOldBlue]

Thanks!

That's a lovely shot too; based on the shadows I'm guessing an east-west bridge (shot taken facing west in the morning an hour or two after sunrise) with a very slow (super reflections) moving body of water underneath it; running south based on the pier geometry.

Possibly the Connecticut River.

Probably wrong; I'll play around some tomorrow.

P.S. We thought initially they had over-chlorinated the pool, then realized it was tear gas. Found out later about the Sikorsky.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Your hunch about the Connecticut River is correct.... And it's a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Like the Knight's Ferry Bridge the site of this bridge has seen it's share of floods. The first bridge built on this site dates from the late 1700's....

[CalOldBlue]

One interesting side-note to this locale is that the Dent brothers ran the ferry.

Their sister Julia had married a down-at-the-heels Army officer, who later on a visit to this locale while serving in the West is rumored to have drawn up the original plans for the original bridge (since destroyed and replaced).

Who? U. S. Grant.

Anyway, let's finish this one off.

Cornish (NH) - Windsor (VT) bridge.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Yes, it is the CORNISH-WINDSOR BRIDGE connecting Cornish, New Hampshire and Windsor, Vermont.

(photo by Gerald Thurman)
Additional Info: The bridge is 449'5" long and consists of two spans of 204'0" and 203'0". It has an overall width of 24'0"., a roadway width of 19'6", and a maximum vertical clearance of 12'9". It is posted for ten tons.
There were three bridges previously built on this site in 1796, 1824 and 1828. The first bridges were destroyed by floods. The current bridge was built by James Tasker and Bela Fletcher. It was framed on a nearby meadow northwest of the site and later moved to its proper location. In 1935, the New Hampshire General Court authorized funds to purchase the bridge. The structure was purchased by the state in 1936 and operated it as a toll bridge until June 1, 1943. After renovation by the state in 1954, the Cornish Windsor Bridge suffered damage from flood water and ice in 1977. It was repaired again by the state for $25,000. Because of its deteriorated condition, it was closed to traffic on July 2, 1987. The bridge was reconstructed by the state in 1989 at a cost of $4,450,000 and was opened to traffic on December 8, 1989. This is the longest wooden covered bridge in the United States and the longest two-span covered bridge in the world. The American Society of Civil Engineers designated it as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1970. The bridge is featured on the Town Bicentennial Medal struck in 1976. The Cornish-Windsor Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Interior photos and more information here.

[CalOldBlue]

What is this bridge, where is it, and what role did it play in history?


Photo: Don Casey

[Mark Sedenquist]

Very nice light and setting.

Hmmm, civil or revolutionary war battle scene perchance.... my history is a bit rusty -- we need AZBuck and few others to jump back in here.


Mark

[Mark Sedenquist]

The Burnside Bridge is located in the Antietam National Military Park near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Here's an account of the battle whereby a determined group of Confederate soldiers, perhaps as few as 300, effectively held back a 12,000 member of Union soldiers attempting to wipe out the Virginia army.

And, of course, I should mention that the Antietam battle was one of the bloodiest of the American Civil War. The topography of the site often made it impossible for the battlefield commanders to figure out what the relative troop strengths of two armies were and thousands of soldiers on both sides died when they ended up in exactly the wrong spot during the course of the battle.

Mark

[CalOldBlue]

A relatively small number of confederate troops on the high ground overlooking this bridge were able to hold up General Ambrose Burnside's Union troops for hours... allowing additional confederate troops time to arrive from Harper's Ferry so that once Burnside broke through, the Union still was unable to push back Lee's army.

This resulted in a stalemate, instead of what could have been a decisive victory for McClellan over Lee.

As it was, his failure to pursue Lee back across the Potomac after this battle probably sealed McClellan's fate (Lincoln relieved him from command within a few months), but it was enough of a victory for Lincoln to move forward with announcing the Emancipation Proclamation, which he had been holding pending some Union victory in the field.

Thousands of Union soldiers died attempting to cross/take this bridge.

One could argue that Burnside's failure to timely take this bridge, alowing even the cautious McClellan to destroy Lee's army, lengthened the Civil War by more than two years.

Ah, I see you just covered most of this....

Anyway, here's a shot from the other side. This one is looking from the Confederate position toward the Union lines. In the earlier photo you can see some of the high ground the Confederates were defending.


Photo: Don Casey

[Mark Sedenquist]

I guess in the days of the battle, there were no trees around the bridge and the Confederate sharpshooters (snipers) had a clear killing view of the bridge. It must have been no fun to try and take that bridge!

Mark