Remnant of Revolutionary War marvel washes ashore.

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TICONDEROGA (AP) - A bridge built across Lake Champlain by about 2,500 underfed and sick Contential Army soldiers in the late winter and early spring of 1777 was considered a marvel of 18th century engineering.
Historians figure thousands of huge pine logs were skidded onto the ice in March and April, notched together like Lincoln Logs, and then sunk with rocks through holes the soldiers cut in the ice.
By spring 22 caissons, some up to 50 feet tall, reached the surface of the lake where they were joined by a deck that allowed people to walk between Fort Ticonderoga in New York and Mount Independence in Orwell.
Now a piece of one of those caissons sits in the preservation laboratory at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum being made ready to give museum visitors a glimpse of the 228-year-old bridge.
"When you look at what theywanted to do, it connects you right to the American Revolution," said Maritime Museum Executive Director Art Cohn.
About 2,500 American troops used the 16 foot-wide bridge built on top of the caissons to flee the British army that was bearing down on Fort Ticonderoga in July 1777.
The British occupied the fort and later destroyed the bridge, But many of those same colonial troops who fled Ticonderoga played a role in defeating the British in the Battle of Saratoga, one of the pivital battles of the Revolutionary War, 3 months later.
The caissons the bridge rested on remain underwater. They are all deep enough so they don't interfere with boats on the lake, Cohn said.
The 26 foot beam is estimated to weigh between 1,500 and 1,800 pounds. It washed ashore last year near Fort Ticonderoga on the New York shore of Lake Champlain.
The beam was trucked to the Maritime Museum in December where it is being dried out and made ready for public display.
The size and condition of the beam mean it isn't as difficult to preserve as some other wooden artifacts pulled from Lake Champlain.
The original tree that was cut nearby in Vermont or New York is believed to be dense, white pine. Eighteenth century forest were full of such trees.
"It's certainly old growth." said Chris Sbic, the museum's director of conservation.
The cold lake water helped preserve the timber.
"The wood was never completely waterlogged," Sabic said.
"The conservation is going to be very passive," he said. "We're not trying to impregnate it with chemicals. We are really just letting it dry out as slowly as possible in a controlled enviroment."
That comes from simply wrapping a plastic tarp around the beam for part of the day.
The simple conservation technique is a marked contrast from some other wooden Lake Champlain artifacts that have required months or years of expensive preservation.
For example, it took years to preserve an anchor from a British warship from the War of 1912 that was pulled from the lake near plattsburgh, N.Y.
In that case the anchor was dried by soaking it in alcohol. Then the anchor was soaked in a solution that contained pine rosin.
The entire process took several years. The anchor is now on display at the Plattsburgh City Hall.
Cohn said divers first discovered the bridge caissons in 1983. They were still largely intact, laid out in an arc between the two shores.
The discovery came before the museum opened. So Cohn and the other divers moved on to other projects.
Cohn and the others returned to the bridge in 1992.
It was then that they mapped the locations of the caissons and recovered thousands of Revolutionary War artifacts believed dumped in the lake when the British abandoned the fortifications in late 1777.
Some of the artifacts are now on display at the Mount Independence Visitor Center in Orwell. The visibility of the water in southern Lake Champlain was near zero, although Cohn said it was now improving because zebra mussels are filtering the water.
It's unclear what caused the timber to surface, but it still floated after 228 years under water. It was pulled to shore by Fort Ticonderoga officials last year.
Cohn said they had to wait until the ground was frozen in december before a truck could be driven down to the edge of the water so it could be picked up and moved to the museum.
Once the preservation of the timber is complete it will be displayed at the Maritime Museum. Cohn said it will be returned to the museum at Fort Ticonderoga after a new visitor center is completed there.

"In the picture below"
Art Cohn stands next to part of a caisson from a bridge built across Lake Champlain by Continental Army soldiers in the late winter and early spring of 1777 as it sits in the preservation laboratory at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Feb 15 in Ferrisburgh VT. The bridge across Lake Champlain is considered a marvel of 18th century engineering.

I've quoted this whole piece as I read it from the leader-herald in upstate NY. I hope I'm not infringing or anything. I figured if I posted the link it would only be veiwable for a few days. This way its here for all to read.This is a beautiful piece of history that has come to light. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did. Jason

[BrianFL.]

Great artical...thanks for sharing it.

[Gregory]

Really enjoyed reading this and thanks for the Pic

[swizzle]

Anytime.

[Dugday]

WOW,

Now that's really cool.............!