Snell's Bridge is an historic bridge over the

Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeas ...

on the road between present-day

Highland, Maryland Highland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,133. It uses the 20777 zip code. Geography The community is located in southern Howa ...

and

Ashton, Maryland Ashton is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The commercial center of Ashton lies at the junction of Route 108 (Ashton Road) and New Hampshire Avenue ( Route 650). The etymology of Ashton is unclear, as ...

. Farms surrounding the bridge were surveyed as early as 1720. In 1777, George Snell was considered the owner of the bridge by Montgomery County with George Darby listed as the road overseer. In November 1787, the State of Maryland funded a fifty-foot wide road to be built from Snell's Bridge and Greens Bridge upstream to Ellicott's Mills. Richard Green, Nathanial Owen, and John Ellicott were appointed commissioners for the project. The land next to the bridge is the birthplace of the Whig Major who ordered the '' Peggy Stuart'' burned. During the British invasion of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, American troops led by

William H. Winder William Henry Winder (February 18, 1775 – May 24, 1824) was an American soldier and a Maryland lawyer. He was a controversial general in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812. On August 24, 1814, as a brigadier general, he led American troops i ...

retreated east across Snell's Bridge on August 26, 1814. The President stayed at Brookville, with the disorganized troops gathering at the bridge for the night. After camping overnight at the bridge, the General concluded that he should proceed directly to Baltimore in case the British were advancing northward leaving Brigadier General Stansbury in charge of the troops at camp. The British were at the same time leaving Washington, and boarded ships to sail the Potomac and Chesapeake toward Baltimore. In the 1840s, the state funded a replacement to Snell's Bridge. The modern bridge is a concrete arch built in 1928 along with the widening of route 108 in Howard County. The bridge replacement was funded via the 1920 Lateral and Post Roads Act. A historical survey was conducted in 1995 without mention of the bridge's role in the War of 1812.

External links

Martenets 1860 Map of Howard County

References

{{reflist Bridges in Howard County, Maryland Bridges in Montgomery County, Maryland Bridges completed in 1907 Landmarks in Maryland Road bridges in Maryland Arch bridges in the United States Concrete bridges in the United States Patuxent River

See also

External links

References