Union Arch Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Union Arch Bridge, also called the "Cabin John Bridge," is a historic masonry
structure in Cabin John
, Maryland
. It was designed as part of the Washington Aqueduct
and as a roadway bridge. The bridge construction began in 1857 and was completed in 1864. The roadway surface was added later. The bridge was designed by Alfred Landon Rives, and built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
under the direction of Lieutenant Montgomery C. Meigs
.
and granite
, and rises 101 ft (30.8 m) above Cabin John Creek
. The main arch
span is 220 ft (67.1 m) feet long and rises 57 in 3 in (17.45 m). The bridge has an internal spandrel
wall structure that contains nine additional smaller arches, which are concealed from view by exterior stone sidewalls. At the time of its construction in 1864, the main span was the longest single-span masonry arch in the world. It retained that distinction until the opening of the 218 feet (66.4 m) span of the Pont Adolphe Bridge
in Luxembourg
in 1903. Previously, that honour had gone to the Grosvenor Bridge
which crosses the River Dee
in Chester, England and which was opened by the thirteen-year-old Princess Victoria
(five years before becoming Queen) in October 1832. Visually, the similarities between the Union Arch Bridge and the Grosvenor Bridge are remarkable.
.
While the bridge was being designed and constructed, it was referred to as "Union Arch", "Bridge No. 4" or "Cabin John Bridge" in drawings and government correspondence. The latter two names, however, do not appear in any of the stone carvings that were eventually placed on the bridge. In 1861, as the bridge was nearing completion, the Army drew up initial plans for inscription of commemorative stone tablets to be installed on the bridge. Meigs, who had been promoted to the rank of Captain, issued an order in March 1861 for a tablet on the east bridge abutment. The text was to consist of a title, "Union Bridge," and the names of the principal designers, namely Meigs and Assistant Engineer Alfred L. Rives. By the time the war began, however, Rives had joined the Confederate Army
. The final tablet design was modified with the title "Union Arch" and "Alfred L. Rives" was replaced with "Esto Perpetua" ("Let it last forever.").
Several publications have referred to the "Union Arch" of the Washington Aqueduct, but others refer to the structure as the Cabin John Bridge.
and the Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis
. Captain Meigs' 1861 order also called for a tablet on the west bridge abutment, with the title, "Washington Aqueduct" and listing the political leaders that were in office both at the start of the project and at its completion (i.e., Pierce and Davis; President Abraham Lincoln
and Secretary of War Simon Cameron
). By 1862, however, Davis had left the Union to become President of the Confederate States of America
. There was resentment among some members of Congress
about the inscription of Davis' name on the bridge, and this led to an order that his name be removed from the tablet. The Department of the Interior
, which was managing the aqueduct at that time, ordered the removal of the inscription.
In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt
was asked by various constituents to restore Davis' name to the tablet. Roosevelt ordered the restoration.
was constructed in the early 1960s, and the nearby Beltway bridge over the Potomac River
was also called the "Cabin John Bridge." However, in 1969 the Beltway bridge was formally named the "American Legion Memorial Bridge."
in 1972 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
in 1973. Both designations refer to the bridge as the "Cabin John Aqueduct."
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
structure in Cabin John
Cabin John, Maryland
Cabin John is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The placename is a corruption of its original name of "Captain John's Mills."-Geography:...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. It was designed as part of the Washington Aqueduct
Washington Aqueduct
The Washington Aqueduct is an aqueduct that provides the public water supply system serving Washington, D.C., and parts of its suburbs. One of the first major aqueduct projects in the United States, the Aqueduct was commissioned by Congress in 1852, and construction began in 1853 under the...
and as a roadway bridge. The bridge construction began in 1857 and was completed in 1864. The roadway surface was added later. The bridge was designed by Alfred Landon Rives, and built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
under the direction of Lieutenant Montgomery C. Meigs
Montgomery C. Meigs
Montgomery Cunningham Meigs was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, construction engineer for a number of facilities in Washington, D.C., and Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during and after the American Civil War....
.
Bridge design
The bridge, with an overall length of 450 ft (137.2 m) and width of 20 ft (6.1 m), is constructed of sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, and rises 101 ft (30.8 m) above Cabin John Creek
Cabin John Creek (Potomac River)
Cabin John Creek is a tributary stream of the Potomac River in Montgomery County, Maryland. The watershed covers an area of . The headwaters of the creek originate in the city of Rockville, and the creek flows southward for to the Potomac River....
. The main arch
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
span is 220 ft (67.1 m) feet long and rises 57 in 3 in (17.45 m). The bridge has an internal spandrel
Spandrel
A spandrel, less often spandril or splaundrel, is the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure....
wall structure that contains nine additional smaller arches, which are concealed from view by exterior stone sidewalls. At the time of its construction in 1864, the main span was the longest single-span masonry arch in the world. It retained that distinction until the opening of the 218 feet (66.4 m) span of the Pont Adolphe Bridge
Adolphe Bridge
Adolphe Bridge is an arch bridge in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. The bridge takes road traffic across the Pétrusse, connecting Boulevard Royal, in Ville Haute, to Avenue de la Liberté, in Gare...
in Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
in 1903. Previously, that honour had gone to the Grosvenor Bridge
Grosvenor Bridge (Chester)
The Grosvenor Bridge is a single-span arch road bridge constructed from stone. It crosses the River Dee at Chester in England. The bridge is located on the A483 Grosvenor Road . Views upriver from the bridge include Chester Castle and Handbridge. The view downstream from the bridge encompasses the...
which crosses the River Dee
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries....
in Chester, England and which was opened by the thirteen-year-old Princess Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
(five years before becoming Queen) in October 1832. Visually, the similarities between the Union Arch Bridge and the Grosvenor Bridge are remarkable.
Controversy
The naming of the bridge has been somewhat confused, related to its completion during the period of the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Union Arch inscription
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
. The final tablet design was modified with the title "Union Arch" and "Alfred L. Rives" was replaced with "Esto Perpetua" ("Let it last forever.").
Several publications have referred to the "Union Arch" of the Washington Aqueduct, but others refer to the structure as the Cabin John Bridge.
Jefferson Davis inscription
The bridge design process had begun in 1853, during the administration of President Franklin PierceFranklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
and the Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
. Captain Meigs' 1861 order also called for a tablet on the west bridge abutment, with the title, "Washington Aqueduct" and listing the political leaders that were in office both at the start of the project and at its completion (i.e., Pierce and Davis; President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and Secretary of War Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War. After making his fortune in railways and banking, he turned to a life of politics. He became a U.S. senator in 1845 for the state of Pennsylvania,...
). By 1862, however, Davis had left the Union to become President of the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. There was resentment among some members of Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
about the inscription of Davis' name on the bridge, and this led to an order that his name be removed from the tablet. The Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
, which was managing the aqueduct at that time, ordered the removal of the inscription.
In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
was asked by various constituents to restore Davis' name to the tablet. Roosevelt ordered the restoration.
Twentieth century naming confusion
Some additional confusion over the bridge name arose when the Capital BeltwayInterstate 495 (Capital Beltway)
Interstate 495 is a Interstate Highway that surrounds the United States' capital of Washington, D.C., and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the Capital Beltway or simply the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear...
was constructed in the early 1960s, and the nearby Beltway bridge over the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
was also called the "Cabin John Bridge." However, in 1969 the Beltway bridge was formally named the "American Legion Memorial Bridge."
American Legion Memorial Bridge (Potomac River)
The American Legion Memorial Bridge, also known as the American Legion Bridge and formerly as the Cabin John Bridge, is a bridge in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It carries the Capital Beltway across the Potomac River between Montgomery County and Fairfax County, Virginia...
Historic designations
The Union Arch Bridge was designated as a Historic National Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil EngineersAmerican Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
in 1972 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1973. Both designations refer to the bridge as the "Cabin John Aqueduct."