Photograph of a 1560 foot pontoon bridge that spanned the Missouri River at St. Charles, Missouri, ca. 1871.

During the Civil War, Union engineers built pontoon bridges over waterways to provide crossings for troops or to replace destroyed bridges. The bridges were prebuilt and transported to where needed, then assembled on floating pontoons, which were secured to land. Pontoon bridges could be assembled in a short time, which expedited water crossings. Pontoon bridges were utilized in some campaigns in the Trans-Mississippi Theater, including General Frederick Steele’s capture of Little Rock in 1863.

Albumen by Rudolph Goebel, St. Charles, Mo.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31360