Burnside's Bridge Pewter Sculpture by Chilmark, #636 of 1500. A Chilmark pewter statue by Francis Barnhum is a limited edition piece that is huge measuring at 24 inches x 12 inches x 9.5 inches tall. The piece is dated 6-10-1989. Burnside's Bridge is a landmark on the Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Crossing over Antietam Creek, the bridge played a key role in the September 1862 Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War when a small number of Confederate soldiers from Georgia for several hours held off repeated attempts by elements of the Union Army to take the bridge by force. Finally, the Federals seized it, but not before the attack had been delayed for several hours beyond what had been expected by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside. The bridge now bears Burnside's name. Constructed in 1836 of area limestone and granite by local Dunker farmers, the three-arched, 12-foot (3.7 m)-wide, 125-foot (38 m)-long bridge provided a passageway over Antietam Creek for farmers to take their produce and livestock to market in Sharpsburg. It was originally named the Lower Bridge, as there were two others (Upper Bridge and Middle Bridge) upstream that also allowed movement of freight, animals, and people across the creek. The Lower Bridge took on the name Rohrbach's Bridge after a farmer, Henry Rohrbach, who lived near the structure. After the war, the U.S. Government acquired the bridge and adjoining land. Vehicular traffic across the bridge was stopped and the original farm lanes allowed to grow over with grass. Foot traffic is still allowed across the structure, which remains as one of the most photographed bridges of the Civil War. Estimated less than 50 yrs old. Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85 to 99 percent tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and sometimes, less commonly today, lead. Silver is also sometimes used. Copper and antimony act as hardeners while lead is common in the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. It has a low melting point, around 338 to 446 deg F, depending on the exact mixture of metals. (Wikepedia) Size and/or Weight: See Measurement Photo. (Photos Represent The Lot Condition.)

Good