Antietam Bridge LbNA #2903 (ARCHIVED)

****ATTENTION****

I have pulled this box as of 6/9/06. Poison ivy is starting to spring up too close. Will relocate it somewhere....sometime.....

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Antietam Bridge

Originally placed at Antietam Battlefield, Sharpsburg, MD
Moved to Pratt Park, Falmouth, VA (Stafford County) on 26 May 2002

From I-95, take Exit 133A. Take Route 17S towards Falmouth. Turn right on US-1 South. Immediately turn right on Hwy 607 (before the bridge) and follow River Road for about 1 1/2 miles. Turn left into Pratt Park and park in the parking lot.

***PLEASE NOTE***From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend this PARK CHARGES an astronomical FEE on WEEKENDS for non-residents of Stafford County and the City of Fredericksburg. They DON'T CHARGE during the week in the summer or any other time during the year.***

Meanwhile Corporal Murdock of the Georgian troop was guarding the river crossing at the lower bridge. "As the Georgians saw it", General Burnside and his Union soldiers didn't have a chance of getting across. They took turns picking the Union soldiers off the bridge. From the lookout spot, Corporal Murdock stepped back 26 paces and sat under three trees that had grown together just 349 degrees north of the trail. There to pass the time, he carved a small replica of the bridge below. Suddenly there were shots all around as the Union surprised them by coming around their flank. Murdock sprang to his feet as the carving fell to the ground and lodged itself under a rock to the right of the tree. Murdock and his fellow Georgians died there that day.

The Union soldiers were men from the 51st New York Infantry Regiment and 51st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment who had dashed across the bridge while under fire and seized the high ground. Had they continued their advance, they would have placed themselves on the Confederate right flank and blocked Lee from being able to cross the Potomac River back into Virginia. However, they were almost out of ammunition and waited for two hours before they were resupplied. When they finally moved forward, they were attacked by Confederates from A.P. Hill's Division who had marched 17 miles that day from Harper's Ferry. The Union soldiers retreated back to the high ground above the bridge where they spent the night.

The next day, Sergeant Jacob Fryberger, Company K, 51st PA Inf Rgmt, wrote in a letter home, "I have seen more than I ever expected to see. I have layed on the field in front of the enemy, where the dead and wounded were laying heaps around us." Sergeant Fryberger found Corporal Murdock's carving of the bridge and placed it in his coat pocket.

The Confederates retreated across the Potomac and Sergeant Fryberger was part of the large Union Army that gradually moved through Virginia and attacked the Confederates again at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862. After the battle, the 51st Pennsylvania was bivouacked across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg near the Lacy House (now know as the Chatham House). On Christmas Eve, Sergeant Fryberger had picket duty and during the night, lost the carving he had first found at Antietam.

Directions to Box:

1. In the parking lot, turn and face the soccer fields. Walk toward the soccer fields.

2. When you get to the paved track that runs around the soccer fields, turn left and walk down the track.

3. Walk down the track until you get to Picnic Shelter H which will be on your left.

4. Behind Shelter H look for a sign that says "Oaken Sunrise Trail."

5. Go down the trail until you come to a small wooden bridge with no handrails. (Might be covered with leaves)Do not cross the bridge.

6. Turn around at the edge of the bridge and face back up the trail the way you came. Walk back up the trail 25 steps.

7. On your right you should see 3 large trees standing one behind the other. Go to the 3rd tree back and look behind it for Antietam Bridge. Please take care when covering the box. Make it look natural.

8. To get back to the parking lot, return to the trail, turn left and follow it to the end. You will see the parking lot.