Antietam

The roadbed in this picture is the last sight hundreds of Union soldiers saw on Sep 17, 1862 as they tried to cross this bridge over Antietam Creek before being shot down by Georgia marksmen stationed on the ridge above. The other pic shows a side shot of the bridge from just above the Georgians' positions, so you can see the southern boys had an easy shot. The Yankees tried to take the bridge for four hours, but failed until the 51st Pennsylvania regiment came on the scene. Their commander, a teetotaler, had taken away the regiment's whiskey privileges as a disciplinary measure. Now he asked them to make an effort to take the bridge. The troops said they'd do it, providing he resumed their whiskey rations if they succeeded. He said yes, they took the bridge in a few minutes, and they had their hooch back!

Incidentially, two somewhat notorious generals participated in this battle on the Union side. One, Ambrose Burnside, commanded the troops trying to take this bridge, and it quickly became known as Burnside's bridge, as it is to this day. Burnside lives on in the language. He sported huge muttonchop swathes of facial hair on both cheeks. These became known as "burnsides", but soon thereafter the terminology was reversed, giving us today's sideburns.

Another figure at Antietam was Joe Hooker, known as "Fighting Joe". Hooker had a mix of military and political ability, both of which were perhaps compromised somewhat by his love of whiskey and women. He was a notorious partier and had as camp followers a number of prostitutes. I had heard that since these women were part of Hooker's entourage, the general's name eventually became slang vernacular for ladies who play for pay. However, Wikipedia insists that the term was being used as early as 1845, well before Hooker became famous. On the other hand, his notorious love of partying may have popularized the term. The Wiki folks do verify Burnside's place in the English language.