Antietam—Phase Three: The Lower Bridge

The Lower Bridge

At the southern end of the battlefield, Federal soldiers started across Rohrbach Bridge at around 10:00 a.m. Four three hours, five hundred Confederate sharpshooters said “No,” stymying the Union advance. Finally, a concentrated assault forced a passage. Confederates fells back, but rather than press his advantage, Ninth Corps commander Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside paused his men to regroup. Only after concentrating did he push forward beyond the bridgehead he’d established—toward the town of Sharpsburg beyond and into the Confederate rear.

The small wagon at the foot of the bridge is Alexander Gardner’s mobile photography lab.