When the Civil War broke out, Robert Gilchrist, though opposed to secession, stayed in Charleston and sided with the Confederacy. He fought to defend the Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor. He was commissioned an officer and rose to the rank of major under general Beauregard, the commander in Charleston.
The city held out until 1865, when it was abandoned as Sherman marched his Union force through South Carolina.
When the war ended, Robert, his wife and young family, traveled to The Glen to inspect the property owned by his uncle (also named Robert Gilchrist) and Mother (Mary Gilchrist).
Dr. Thomas Durant by then had the Adirondack Railroad, whose completion had been delayed because of the war and was planning to expand his railroad from Saratoga to North Creek. Robert Gilchrist was now in the Adirondacks and had plans to expand into the forest, tourism and resort industries and saw an opportunity with the railroad.
Robert decided to help the railroad locate and had a bridge built across the Hudson River on his property. The project cost $8,000 and was a John A. Roebling-style bridge and hired engineer Charles McDonald to supervise it.
--Old Secesh
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