1865   Ponton Carts                1945   Bailey Carts
Kilroy was here !
"Essayons"       i.e.      "Let Us Try"
Floating Bridge Engineers
of the
.
Civil War
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Canvas Ponton


 


Ponton Construction Plan


1864                 Trestle Sections           1944


For Lack of a Nail!!

    Whether in War or Construction, and as I suspect many other endeavors, I have learned that  the big events or jobs are made up of many little events that have to fall into place for the big show to be successful or not whichever the case may be. A simple bridge can be the key factor in many large operations.
    A case in point is made by Janice Holt Giles in her book The Damned Engineers, her husband Henry Giles was a Sgt. in the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion.  This unit commanded by Col. David Pergrin, found itself in Dec. 1944 scattered in small squads around the area of the Ambleve River in Belgium.
   " Hitler's Ardennes counter offensive, which became known as the Battle of the Bulge, was meant to drive to the sea and insert a wedge between the Allied Armies and by virtue of overwhelming surprise nearly succeeded.   What destroyed the validity of this attack, was above all, the tenacious courage of small groups of Allied soldiers who refused to admit defeat .  They offered resistance where and as they could and in the final analysis they broke the force of the blow and won."
    The 291st Engineer Combat Battalion, with a TO of 600 troops was one of these groups,  outflanked and overrun they never the less fought.   The efforts of these small units effectively disrupted  the battle plan of Kampfgruppe Peiper, commanded by Oberst Waffen SS Jochen Peiper,   making it possible for the Allied units to get in position, and making the holding of Bastogne a reality, which halted the German attack.
    It was these actions which occasioned Jochen Peiper to say when "Up she went in rainbows and thunder, an expert, beautiful bridge demolition job.  Peiper could only sit with leaden heart and face the fact that time and his luck had entirely run out on him.  Though he would battle desperately for five more days to escape the box he was now caught in, it was here he faced the inevitable end.  And he could only sit helplessly, pound his knee and swear bitterly, 'The damned engineers!  The damned engineers!'"

CHATTANOOGA
   A fter being defeated at Chickamauga,  Federal troops dug in at Chatanooga. But being besieged by the Confederate guns under Bragg, an alternate supply line called the Cracker line was built at Brown's ferry to avoid these guns.     This scene depicts Sherman's troops on November 23, 1863 crossing the Tennessee River via a Ponton Bridge to attack Tunnel Hill.  This days attack and the following day were unsuccessful but on the third day Grant ordered a limited attack on Missionary ridge but the Federal troops got going and couldn't be stopped by either side and carried the day.

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The so called Grape Vine Bridge in the latter stages of the Peninsular Campaign, appears to be  corduroy assembled on logs and bents.   The Union Army Regular Engineers consisted of five companies and the were bolstered by two volunteer regiments the 15th and the 50th New York.   In the whole scheme of things this was not many people and the practice was to reach out to the nearest Infantry regiment to provide the labor for many of these projects, with the Engineers supervising.  Therefore it looks like the two men in the fore ground may be Engineers.

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        The engraving and the Plan View of the Woodbury and Alexander Bridge over the Chickahominy River may be another view of the same Grape Vine Bridge depicted in the photo.  However several Bridges were constructed over the Chickahominy by Brig. Gen. D. P. Woodbury Commander of the Engineer Brigade and this may represent another of them.   In his Engineer Report of the Peninsular Campaign, Brig.-Gen John G. Barnard describes the Chickahominy River as they found it in May 1862 to be as a slight stream but a considerable military obstacle due to an adjacent swamp and bottom land.   The stream flows through a belt of heavily timbered swamp, which averages three or four hundred yards wide.

    May 1864     On the left is a canvas Ponton Bridge across the North Anna River near Jericho Mills.  The view on the right is a wooden Bateaux type float bridge, also erected on the North Anna River near the site of the destroyed bridge who's bents can be seen on the right.  An experienced crew, unhindered by enemy action could assemble such a bridge in less than one hour.

   This photo shows a ferry constructed of canvas floats, some of the extra float sections can be seen in the background.  This one looks pretty much jury rigged with log beams and must have some type of stringers carrying the deck.  These artillery men look pretty confident but she has a bit of a list and not much free board.   It appears to be propelled by a tow rope to and from each shore.
                Probably if the engineers were smart they stayed on the shore and pulled the rope.
    In 1944 a raft would be made up of 5 floats with the normal bridge decking attached to make the platform.    There would be three 22 h. p outboards for power, one attached to the end of the center float and the others attached to the same end of the outside floats.   There was an operator for each motor and normally an NCO who had the responsibility of coordinating  these three as to rpm's and direction.   This could become quite hairy,  this whole assemblage laden with a tank or a loaded 6 X 6 , combined with the vagaries of the river currents could on occasion have a mind of it's own.   Two ramps were built, one on each shore, from normal bridge trestles which could be adjusted for height and the raft would be situated at the ramp on the near shore with the floats facing upstream to give better control which could be nebulous at best.   After the vehicle was driven on and secured the raft was started off up river facing the current and crossed the river in a big letter S which then came in below the ramp on the far shore and allowed the raft to approach against whatever currents there might be. Coming in downstream could be a disaster as you might very well take out the whole ramp.  This maneuver also allowed the vehicle after being moored at the far shore to drive front ward off the raft.  Accidents happened and  From the Photo right it looks like they have come a long ways, since one occasion in the summer of 1944, when during  the  Carolina maneuvers on a very swollen stream which I believe was the Pee Dee River, a 3/4 ton lorry drove on to a 488th raft and continued right off the other end without stopping.   This was at night and both occupants as well as the truck were lost.

    A description of the canvas ponton is written in Millers, Photographic History of the Civil war as follows.  "When dismantled  the canvas pontoon boats occupied a surprisingly small space.  Thus the capacity of a train for bridge material of this kind was very much greater than for that of the wooden pontoons.   The latter however, gave better and more lasting service.  The canvas be came water-tight if well soaked.  These pontoon boats were knocked down to be transported;  the canvas was folded into a compact bundle and stowed in one of the wagons of the train.   The parts of each boat were always kept together so that they could be assembled at any time. (without a few missing pieces)  The canvas all in one piece, was laid out smooth on the ground, the bottom pieces of the frame put in place, the tenons of the uprights and the braces inserted in their corresponding mortises, the gunwales together with the end-pieces placed on the top, and the canvas then brought up over the sides and lashed tightly over the gunwales, by ropes eye-spliced into the eyes of the sides.  The inside end pieces were then carried around the bow and stern and lashed, and the outer pieces brought up over the ends and lashed in the same manner as the sides.   The boat was then allowed to soak in the water for a time.   Each boat was twenty-one feet long, five feet wide and two and a half feet deep."
    In a 1944-45 Bailey bridge train, the trucks were loaded  similarly in that instead of putting all the decking, The Army of the Potomac crossing the Rapidan into the Wilderness  beams etc. on one truck, each vehicle was loaded with all the components for a section of bridge.  Looking at my old pictures I see 12 truss frames each 10 feet long, corresponding beams, stringer frames, decking and all other components would be on each truck, therefore when a truck was lost you still had the components to build the bridge.  The length of each section of bridge built from a truck load, varied in that as the span of the bridge became longer more side truss panel were added to strengthen the overall truss.
    A Bailey bridge normally was built on one shore sitting on large rollers called rocking rollers as they also pivoted to accommodate the slope.  A preliminary lighter section of 30 or 40 feet was started first and had an upward angle built in, this was called a launching nose.   Then the main bridge attached to the nose was constructed by pinning the panels, adding the beams, stringer frames and decking ect. (all bull work).  Enough of the structure was kept on the near shore to counterbalance the bridge as it was gradually pushed over the abyss. (occasionally somebody got too optimistic and one was lost at this point and went into the gorge, then more bull work ensued)  When the structure was long enough it was allowed to over balance and hopefully come down on the rollers in place on the far shore.
    In practice where available a truck crane would be used to handle the 600 pound panels (instead of 6 men with wooden bars)  also a bulldozer with a winch, could control the pushing and landing of the structure with more certainty.
    Once in place the launching nose was removed and with large jacks the rocking roller were removed and the bridge cribbed to fit the road grade.  Since the Bailey bridge components were in very short supply, the practice in combat was to erect the bridge at an exaggerated elevation and the following Engineers would construct a timber or other bridge beneath the Bailey while traffic flowed and subsequently removing the Bailey, sending it back to a depot for re use, the traffic flow   . . . would be interrupted for only short intervals in this manner.  . . . . . . . . .  .  .  .  .
    I remember on many occasions, in the middle of the night returning to a previous bridge site and helping dismantle the Bailey and loading it directly on the trucks for re use the next day further up the line.   On one occasion, that I still remember vividly, the Bailey was partially dis-mantled in the darkness of night but with traffic held up as some of the beams were still in place.  At this juncture an Army Ambulance with black-out lights drove up with wounded passengers aboard.   Needless to say an extra effort was put on to clear the deck and allow that Ambulance to proceed.  I don't know where that driver thought he was but he no more than got his wheels on the far shore and he flipped on his head lights, within seconds bed-check Charley came roaring in over the tree tops with all guns blazing.  ( Bed check Charley was the sobriquet given to whomever was the German pilot of the day, who habitually just after dusk would cruise around shooting up whatever they could see.)        I wonder if "Buckshot" gave any thought to that Gas Can below his hand??
 
 


Fredericksburg,  Virginia     1862
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    Burnsides Army arrived at Falmouth on the north bank of the Rappahannock River across from Fredericksburg on or aboutDecember 9, 1862.  At this juncture he had outmaneuvered Lee and had a clear path and open road to Richmond.    Burnside had been promised the Bridge trains would be available to cross the Rappahannock, for whatever reason they were 2 days late arriving and the Federal troops could only sit and watch the Confederate soldiers arrive and set up their defenses on the heights above Fredericksburg in preparation for the attack they knew was coming.  When the bridging finally arrived on December 11, and assembly started it had to be done under heavy and accurate rifle fire of William Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade.
    The picture shows two of the three lower bridges constructed by the 15th NY Volunteer Engineers looking toward the south bank of the Rappahannock with the third of these lower bridges being upstream of these two.


    This painting depicts the 50th NY Volunteer Engineers assembling a bridge under fire at the site of the upper bridges also looking toward the south shore.  This painting entitled Essayons: Engineers at Fredericksburg by Dale Gallon was commissioned  by the Army Engineer Association for whom he has done several historical paintings.
    More information about this painting or purchasing copies can be had from:
Dale Gallon Historical Art, Inc.,  P.O. Box 4343 - 777 Baltimore St.,   Gettysburg, PA 17325     (717) 334 0430.


 
 
 


 
 


Winter camp of the Fiftieth New York Engineers
Rappahannock Station   March 1864
The obvious neatness of this encampment, illustrated in the photo shows how a group of Army Engineers given a little time are very self sufficient and will somehow make the best of any circumstances.


Gettysburg Battlefield Monument
This Engineer Castle erected at the Gettysburg PA Battlefield in honor of the 15th and 50th
New York Engineers is approxmately 15 feet wide and 12 or so feet high.
The plaque represents twin ponton float bridges which may very well have been the ones
at Fredericksburg.

Above And Beyond

Since retirement my geneology research has taken me into several north country cemeterys, over a period of several years this led me into drawing cemetery maps and doing computer data bases for many cemeteries in this area.
    In the older parts of these cemeteries there are represented many GAR Veterans.   In the little village of Hermon, NY two family plots in particular caught my attention.

The first was the Billings family.
               David S. Billings           1830  -  1864        GAR     Co. B   92nd Regt.                Ae   34
               Franklin M. Billings     1839  -  1864        GAR     Co. B   35th Regt.  Inf.         Ae   25
               Richard M. Billings      1841  -  1862        GAR     Co. B   35th Regt. Inf.          Ae   21
              John W. Billings            1837  -  1864        GAR     Co. K  106th Regt. Inf.         Ae   27

Three rows to the east was the Lassell family.
              Harris Lassell               1842  -  1864        GAR     1st NY Light Art.  Batt. D     Ae   22
              Cephasc Lassell            1830  -  1864        GAR     77th  NY    Cavalry                Ae   34
              George Lassell              1840  -  1864        GAR     11th  NY    Cavalry                Ae   24
              Charles Lassell              1836  -  1864        GAR     14th Heavy Artillery             Ae   28

    Considering this is a very rural area and more so in 1860, I can easily assume these were farm familys so you can see they took a real hit.
    Some time when you are feeling low and it seems like times are kinda tough, reading an account like this can help make you realize that it could be worse, like being the Mother's and Father's of these boys.


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Bibliography
             The Damned Engineers,                               Janice Holt Giles
             The U. S. National Archives                         Washington DC
             Report of the Army of the Potomac,                Chief Engineer John Gross Barnard   1863
             The Photographic History of the Civil War,     the Review and Renews Co.                 1911
             The Atlanta Campaign,                                 John Cannan
              Illustrated History of the Civil War,               Richard Humble
              The Civil War                                            Bruce Catton & John McPherson
          Army Engineers                                           www.usaac.army.mil/
              Fort Leonard Wood                                     www.wood.mil/
              U. S. Army                                                www.army.mil/
              The Army Engineer Association                    P.O. Box 30260, Alexandria, VA   22310
           Engineering News Record                            ( 9March 29, 1945)
              Engineers Make History at Remagen              Waldo G Bowman
              Up  Front                                                  Bill Mauldin
              The Bridge At Remagen                              Ken Hechler
              Scholars in Foxholes                                   Louise E. Keefer