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William E. Merrill, Thomas's chief engineer, improved on
Rosecrans's prototype, making it lighter and stronger. He replaced the pins that held individual sections together with hinges so that the side frame sections folded together instead of separating. The new design yielded a portable boat that
51:(known in the army as a "Cincinnati pontoon") and the Russian pontoon, a canvas boat. Both types were twenty-two feet in length and took considerable time to set up, requiring several men to lift into position and pin the individual sections together.
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Early pontoon bridges during the Civil War were heavy and awkward, and required special long-geared pontoon carriers to transport them to the site of the planned river crossing. There were two main types—the French-designed wooden
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was lightweight, small enough to carry on a standard supply wagon, and easier to construct in the field. It was also strong enough to support horse-drawn artillery and fully loaded wagons.
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These boats soon became popularly known as
Cumberland pontoons. Merrill had the first ones constructed in the army's engineer workshops in
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James R. Willet. Soon, a train of fifty new boats was transported to the field armies.
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used the new bridges extensively during the first two months of the
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History of the Ninety-sixth
Regiment, Illinois Volunteers
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35:as the Federal forces advanced southward through
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261:Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War
73:earlier in the war, but had not been adopted.
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167:, University of Nebraska Press, 1998.
266:Pontoon bridges in the United States
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54:Early in 1864, the commander of the
165:The Art of Command in the Civil War
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31:forces across the rivers of the
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204:. You can help Knowledge by
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271:Military bridging equipment
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251:American Civil War stubs
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196:This article about the
156:Partridge, Charles A.,
56:Army of the Cumberland
163:Woodward, Steven E.,
23:developed during the
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71:William S. Rosecrans
17:Cumberland pontoons
198:American Civil War
143:Partridge, 630-31.
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107:Carolinas Campaign
91:William T. Sherman
25:American Civil War
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