The Louisville & Nashville Railroad, completed in 1859 and running north and south, was used by both Union and Confederate armies, and bridge spans on the line were especially targeted by raiders. The bridge crossing Bacon Creek was destroyed several times during the Civil War. John Hunt Morgan's raiders burned the span for a second time on Dec. 5, 1861. Bacon Creek Bridge was burned again in Sept. 1862, when Confederate forces invaded the state. The bridge fell victim to Morgan yet again in Dec. 1862, when he attacked the Union garrison protecting it. The final destruction of the bridge occurred during a December 1864 raid when Confederate Gen. Hylan Lyon and his cavalry command torched the structure.