The breaking up of the ice dams on the Potomac carries away Washington, D.C.'s Long Bridge.

A sudden thaw saw the breaking up of the ice that had blocked the Potomac around Washington, D.C..  With thousands of local residents watching from the shore, the resulting "freshet" carried away large portions of the old Long Bridge together with the new bridge alongside it that carried the Orange and Alexandria Railroad.  Virtually all travel south from the capital into Virginia was halted for days and extensive reconstruction was required.  (By John Osborne)