Burnside Bridge was the center of a noteable Civil War skirmish at Antietam National Battlefield, the site of the "bloodiest one-day battle in American History". The bridge is the namesake of (Union) General Ambrose Everett Burnside who repeatedly attempted to take it from 400 tenacious Georgia riflemen.  The memorable skirmish was one of many poorly conceived plans which needlessly prolonged the bloody Civil War.