Battle of Rivers' Bridge

Feb. 2-3, 1865

A Running Battle on the River Road

On Feb.2, Union troops moved up the road on the opposite bank of the Salkehatchie, fighting a running battle with the Confederate cavalrymen who tried to slow their advance. Among the casualties ...

Battle of Rivers' Bridge

Feb. 2-3, 1865

Attack!

Gen. Joseph A. Mower's Union division advanced rapidly to Rivers Bridge on the afternoon of Feb. 2 and charged down a narrow causeway. Confederate cannon fire stopped the attack and forced the Yankees to take cover in the ...

Battle of Rivers' Bridge

Feb. 2-3, 1865

"This Indescribably Ugly Salkehatchie "

At Rivers Bridge the Salkehatchie flowed though a swamp a

half mile wide. The only road through it was a narrow earthen causeway with multiple wooden bridges. The Confederates hoped the thick swamp and ...

Battle of Rivers' Bridge

Feb. 2-3, 1865

Dig In

Part of McLaws' division protected the middle crossing of the Salkehatchie at Rivers Bridge. This small force, consisting of a brigade of Georgia infantrymen, South Carolina cavalrymen and four cannons of the South Carolina Light Artillery, prepared ...

Battle of Rivers' Bridge

Feb. 2-3, 1865

Crucial Routes to the Heart of the State:

The Salkehatchie River Crossings

As Sherman's right wing- about 28,000 men underGen. Oliver Otis Howard- advanced up the south side of the Salkehatchie, Gen. Lafayette McLaws' Confederate division marched into position on ...

North River Bridge

Covered bridge instrumental in Valley Campaign

The road seen across the river was the original route into the village from the north and west. Early visitors crossed North River by means of a ford, later a ferry, and finally a bridge. ...

Battle of Rivers' Bridge

Feb. 2-3, 1865

The End is Near

The Union Victory broke the main Confederate line of defense in lower South Carolina. McLaws' troops retreated to another line behind the Edisto River about 20 miles northeast of here, then continued to fall ...

Congaree River Bridges

This river took its name from the Congaree Indians, a Siouan tribe which occupied the valley until the Yamassee War in 1715. The first wooden bridge here was completed in 1827. It was burned to delay the advance of Sherman's ...

Gervais Street Bridge

The first bridge at Gervais Street was a covered wooden structure built in 1827 by the Columbia Bridge Company. It remained until 1865 when Confederate soldiers burned it and other bridges to delay the

advance of Sherman's troops. Rebuilt in ...

Tower Bridge

West Sacramento River Walk

Sacramento’s graceful Tower Bridge has spanned the river since 1936. It is the only historically significant vertical-lift bridge in California and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Lights added in 1986 in ...