, 1886-01-22
MILITARY BRIDGES.
MAKEsHlFTs AND PoNTooNs CON-
STRUGGLED DURING THE WAR.
Bridges That We're Flimsy and DANCE
Of the Longest Pontoon
Bridges Ever Iaid-When the
Hand Began to Play.

The soldiers sometimes built tolerably
substantial bridges, but in AN active
campaign their bridge construction was
confined to m~akeshifts and pontoons.
Some OF the m~akeshifts were queer
looking things; usually fimsy and fire.
quently dangerous; like the one built
across the chickahominy in June, 1862,
during the battle OF Fair Oaks, under
the superintendence Of Capt. John
O'Shea, OF the Forty-second ('Tammany')
New York. Gen. Warren was chief of
engineers then, and OF inspecting the
bridge asked the captain II It would bear
artillery. The gallant O'Shea, who was
Rfterward killed heading a charge, STAN
cred terribly, and in addition had n very
rich Cork brogue. "B-b-b-bear ARTILLERY,
is itin he answered. "B-b-begad itn
bear f-fiyin' arthilleryl"
In Lander's short campaign on the
Baltimore & Ohio road in February, 1862,
where Lander's chief ~of-staff, the poet
Fitz-James O'Brien, was killed, a
swollen mountain stream was met
There was nc ford or bridge and tho
column had no pontoon train. But there
was an Ingenious Yankee, the division
wagon-master, and that answered just
AS well. He loaded wagons with stone,
drove them into the water and drew
them up side by side until they reached
across from bank to bank, and then fell
ing trees laid the trunks across the
Wagon bodies, covered all with bark and
dried leaves, and infantry, cavalry and
artillery passed over.
ACROSS THE cHIcKAHoMIHY.
The longest p%ontoon bridge laid during
the war-one of the longest ever laid
was the one that was stretched across
the C~hickRhominy near II mouth in Au-
gust, 1862, for the army Of The Potomac's
passage on its Withdrawal from the pen
insula. But the most exciting piece of
bridge construction during the wal WAS
probably that ut Fredericksburg, Dec. IL,
1862. burnside wanted TO cross over ipto
the town, which was occupied by Barks-
dale's Mississippi brigade, tho rest of
Lees army being in position along the
chain OF heights surrounding the basin
in which the city stands. Two regiments
of engineers had been ~endeavoring since
daylight to launch their pontoons and ar
range the stanchions, etc, for the bridge.
But the Confederate fire was too. hot for
them. In the middle of the forenoon lat
Union cannon opened on Fredericksburg
from the earthworks along the high
north bank, and the engineers made one
more effort under cover OF this fearful
cannonade, but failed again.
II was then that Gen. Sumner called
for volunteers from his own corps [the
Second) to undertake the work, and two
regiments responded-the Seventh Mich
gan and Nineteenth Massachusetts,. The
little force moved quickly out across the
open plateau and then descended by
means Of n deep gulley to the waters
edge, where the pontoons and their frame
work stood ready. The Michigan regi-
ment, numbering then but sixty men,
took a p%ontoon and showed 1t out into
the water and then sprang in. The Mis-
sissippi bullets rained on them, hut they
sailed on, or, rather, poled on, amid the
cheers Of all the Union army that could
see and understand what they were
doing.