Iron Works Bridge

[Andy Cardinal]

This may be more appropriate as a What If question, but....

There were 4 bridges across the Antietam -- from north to south:

The Upper Bridge, on the road from Keedysville to Williamsport.

The Middle Bridge, on the Boonsboro Pike.

The Lower or Rohrbach Bridge (now Burnside's Bridge)

And the "Iron Works" Bridge on the Harper's Ferry-Sharpsburg Road (bottom of the map).

Could the 6th Corps have moved via this route, crossed the Antietam at the Iron Works, and have struck Lee's right flank from this direction?

 

[rpkennedy]

This may be more appropriate as a What If question, but....

There were 4 bridges across the Antietam -- from north to south:

The Upper Bridge, on the road from Keedysville to Williamsport.

The Middle Bridge, on the Boonsboro Pike.

The Lower or Rohrbach Bridge (now Burnside's Bridge)

And the "Iron Works" Bridge on the Harper's Ferry-Sharpsburg Road (bottom of the map).

View attachment 259035

Could the 6th Corps have moved via this route, crossed the Antietam at the Iron Works, and have struck Lee's right flank from this direction?

IIRC, the problem with the roads in Pleasant Valley was that they ran north and south (generally). By the morning of the 17th, segments of the Sixth Corps had already passed the roads that would have led them towards the bridge and would have had to backtrack to get there. It's feasible that they could have gone this route but it would have taken considerable time to get the men there and across, especially considering Franklin's lack of speed.

Ryan

 

[Andy Cardinal]

If I'm reading the map accurately (and if the map itself is accurate) the bridge is roughly a mile below Snavely's Ford, where Rodman's division eventually crossed.

To be honest I had never heard of this bridge before, but it is mentioned in a book I am currently reading.

 

[Wesley P Ellington]

Could the 6th Corps have moved via this route, crossed the Antietam at the Iron Works, and have struck Lee's right flank from this direction?

I think so. It was about 8 or 9 miles from Rohrersville to the Iron Works Bridge. Unfortunately, at dawn on the 17th, turning the confederate right flank was evidently not a primary concern for McClellan; he didn't order the 9th Corps into a position to attack across the creek until about 7:00 a.m. Based on his actions, McClellan apparently wanted two reserve corps in the center at the start of the battle.

 

[ErnieMac]

It appears doable on paper, but I can't speak to the quality of those roads in 1862. The down side is that Franklin would have been in a tight situation had he suffered a revers between the Confederates and the west bank of Antietam Creek.

 

[ErnieMac]

I've attached The War of the Rebellion Atlas Plate 29 which shows the road network pretty well.