Formerly Berlin
— Gettysburg Campaign —
Union troops pursuing the Confederate army to Virginia after the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 crossed the Potomac River here. Called Berlin at the time of the Civil War, this town truly experienced the challenges of life on the border. Both the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad here were military targets. The town would be relocated, grow and gain its new name as the railroad achieved greater commercial influence after the war. Still, it was an important military communications link during the conflict. Frequent Confederate track-wrecking incursions required Union troops and railroad crews to repair ruined bridges rapidly. Wartime interruptions to canal traffic brought financial hardship to many local citizens. The wooden covered bridge here, completed a few years before the war, was destroyed at the onset of hostilities in 1861 along with bridges at Point of Rocks and Harpers Ferry. In October 1862, a pontoon bridge was constructed near the ruins of the destroyed bridge to allow Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac to pursue Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia after the Battle of Antietam. Those pontoons were removed to Fredericksburg, Virginia, in November 1862, to allow Union troops to cross the Rappahannock River. A pair of pontoon bridges was installed here in July 1863, this time with Gen. George G. Meade leading the Army of the Potomac across its namesake river in pursuit of Lee.| HM Number | HMK1 |
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| Series | This marker is part of the Maryland Civil War Trails series |
| Tags | |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Sunday, October 5th, 2014 at 10:17am PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 18S E 273440 N 4354719 |
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| Decimal Degrees | 39.31223333, -77.62781667 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 39° 18.734', W 77° 37.669' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 39° 18' 44.04" N, 77° 37' 40.14" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 301, 240 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 10025 State Rte 627, Brunswick MD 21716, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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