Chickamauga National Military Park Tour Roads, Gordon's Slough Bridge, At the confluence of Alexander's Bridge Road and Gordon's Slough, southeast of Alexander's Bridge, Fort Oglethorpe

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-95-C. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Chickamauga Battlefield Unit, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, at the confluence of Alexander's Bridge Road and Gordon's Slough, southeast of Alexander's Bridge, Fort Oglethorpe Vicinity, Catoosa County, Georgia U.S.G.S. 7.5 minute East Ridge, Georgia quadrangle Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates:

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-95-C. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Gordon's Slough Bridge, Alexander's Bridge, (HAERNo. GA-95-A), and the Connecting Roadway (HAERNo. GA-95-B) are contributing features to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. The National Military Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a discontiguous historic district. Alexander's Bridge, Gordon's Slough Bridge and the Connecting Roadway are contributing features of the Commemorative Period. There has been a bridge spanning West Chickamauga Creek in this location dating back to the Battle of Chickamauga.

The wooden structure comprising Alexander's Bridge, which may have been present at the time of the battle, was badly deteriorated and replaced in with a new wooden bridge built on limestone abutments under the authority of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Commission. In this wooden bridge was replaced with the current steel pony truss structure using the stone abutments already in place, having been constructed in as part of the initial park development. Slough Bridge was built in with limestone used for the abutments. It is not known if a bridge existed at Gordon's Slough during the time of the Battle. Description: Gordon's Slough Bridge is a steel girder bridge with a concrete bridge deck covered in earth and gravel.

The present surface of the bridge is paved in asphalt. The bridge spans approximately 18' and supports a 12' roadway. An original steel pipe railing exists on the south side of the bridge, while the north railing has been replaced with newer welded-steel pipe and a crudely constructed timber guardrail. The bridge spans Gordon's Slough, a dry tributary that carries runoff from heavy rainfall events into West Chickamauga Creek to the north. History: Gordon's Slough Bridge was designed in by Park Engineer Edward E. Betts.

Figure 1 depicts Berts' "Plan of 12 Foot Girder Bridge with Reinforced Concrete Floor on the Alexander Bridge Road at Gordon Slough." Betts served as engineer in charge of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park from to and is responsible for the design and construction of much of the Commemorative Period infrastructure at the National Military Park. The Annual Report for the park reported the completion of a steel girder bridge over Gordon's Slough with an 18 foot span and a 12 foot roadway. Figures 2-8 show the construction of the bridge and roadway in June The bridge had a reinforced concrete floor CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK TOUR ROADS, GORDON'S SLOUGH BRIDGE HAERNo.

GA-95-C (page 2) with gravel surface, constructed on rubble masonry abutments laid in Portland cement. The cost for constructing the bridge was It is unclear if park personnel or outside contractors completed the work, although much of the steel would have been prefabricated off-site and assembled in place at Gordon's Slough.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-95-C. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Ezell, David, Historic American Engineering Record. Chickamauga National Military Park Tour Roads, HAERNo. GA-95. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service HABS/HAER/HALS/CRGIS Division, Washington, Paige, John C. Administrative history of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. Denver Service Center, Denver, Colorado, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Report of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Commission. U.S. War Department, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Commission. Washington

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-95-C. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

William M. Brockenbrough, Brockington and Associates, Inc., CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK TOUR ROADS, GORDON'S SLOUGH BRIDGE HAERNo. GA-95-C (page 3) *ft # :# 9- Figure 1. Plan of 12 Foot Girder Bridge with Reinforced Concrete Floor on the Alexander Bridge Road at Gordon Slough, E. E. Berts, June 11, CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK TOUR ROADS, GORDON'S SLOUGH BRIDGE HAERNo. GA-95-C (page 4) Figure 2. Gordon's Slough Bridge, showing Connecting Roadway in background. CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK TOUR ROADS, GORDON'S SLOUGH BRIDGE HAERNo. GA-95-C (page 5) Figure 3. View of Gordon's Slough Bridge and Connecting Roadway. CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK TOUR ROADS, GORDON'S SLOUGH BRIDGE HAERNo. GA-95-C (page 6) Figure 4.

View of Gordon's Slough Bridge and east approach road of Alexander's Bridge, CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK TOUR ROADS, GORDON'S SLOUGH BRIDGE HAERNo. GA-95-C (page 7) Figure 5. View of Gordon's Slough Bridge under construction, June CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK TOUR ROADS, GORDON'S SLOUGH BRIDGE HAERNo. GA-95-C (page 8) Figure 6. View of Gordon's Slough Bridge under construction, Figure 7. View of Gordon's Slough Bridge with girders in place, CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK TOUR ROADS, GORDON'S SLOUGH BRIDGE HAERNo. GA-95-C (page 9) Figure 8. View of Gordon's Slough Bridge, placing concrete floor, looking north, August