Chapter 30
The Colonel Gets the Job
THE NEWS TRAVELED fast—the esteemed chief engineer and designer of the proposed East River Bridge had died as the result of a freak accident. A few weeks earlier, a boat crushed his foot against the pier on the Brooklyn side of the river when attempting to dock. The brilliant man, John A. Roebling, who possessed strong beliefs on a multitude of subjects, refused the doctor’s recommendation of amputation, and attempted to heal himself through hydrotherapy. He died a painful death from lockjaw seventeen days later. All hope for the smooth continuation of the project rested on the shoulders of his thirty-two-year-old son, Washington Roebling, who distinguished himself during the war as a bridge builder and ended his military career with the rank of colone
