The Battle of Natural Bridge was fought during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

in what is now Woodville, Florida near

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

on March 6, 1865. A small group of Confederate troops and volunteers, which included teenagers from the nearby Florida Military and Collegiate Institute that would later become Florida State University, protected by breastworks, prevented a detachment of United States Colored Troops from crossing the Natural Bridge on the St. Marks River. The Natural Bridge is a stretch along which the St. Marks River runs underground, after dropping into a sinkhole.

Battle

The Union's Brig. Gen.

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...

had undertaken a joint force expedition to engage and destroy Confederate troops that had attacked at

Cedar Key Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. The population was 702 at the 2010 census. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of islands near the mainland. Most of the developed area of the city has been on Way Key since the end of the 19th ...

s, Florida and

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

and were allegedly encamped somewhere around St. Marks. The

Union Navy The Union Navy was the United States Navy (USN) during the American Civil War, when it fought the Confederate States Navy (CSN). The term is sometimes used carelessly to include vessels of war used on the rivers of the interior while they were un ...

had trouble getting its ships up the St. Marks River. The Union Army force, however, had advanced and, after finding one bridge destroyed, started before dawn on March 6 to attempt to cross the river at Natural Bridge. The Union troops initially pushed Rebel forces back, but not away from the bridge. Sailors from USS Hendrick Hudson also participated, and two were awarded the Medal of Honor for their part in this battle: Seaman John Mack and Coxswain George Schutt. Confederate forces under Brigade General William Miller, protected by

breastworks A breastwork is a temporary fortification, often an earthwork thrown up to breast height to provide protection to defenders firing over it from a standing position. A more permanent structure, normally in stone, would be described as a parapet o ...

, guarded all of the approaches and the bridge itself. The action at Natural Bridge lasted most of the day, but, unable to take the bridge in three separate charges, the Union troops retreated to the protection of the fleet. Based on the involvement of the students from the Florida Military and Collegiate Institute, the Florida State University

Reserve Officer Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

(ROTC) program is one of only four Army ROTC programs to have a battle streamer for their actions in the Civil War. Since it was originally part of the Army, FSU's Air Force ROTC unit also displays the same battle streamer.

Monument

The site of the battle is now Natural Bridge Battlefield State Historic Site, a

Florida State Park There are 175 state parks and 9 state trails in the U.S. state of Florida which encompass more than , providing recreational opportunities for both residents and tourists. Almost half of the state parks have an associated local 501(c)(3) non-pr ...

, and contains a monument with the inscription: It is notable that even though the inscription claims that Tallahassee was the only capital of the South not captured by the Union during the Civil war, in actuality Austin Texas was also not captured during the war and never had enemy troops in any direction from it in a 100 mile radius, unlike Tallahassee had.

Annual Memorial Service and Battle Reenactment

First reenactment of the Battle of Natural Bridge of 1865 in 1975

A ceremony honoring the combatants on both sides of the Battle of Natural Bridge, followed by a reenactment of the battle featuring Union, Confederate, and civilian reenactors, is held at the park the first weekend of March every year. The event is free and open to the public.State of Florida official website for Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park The site is now called Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park. The

Civil War Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization (501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. T ...

, a division of the American Battlefield Trust, and its partners have acquired and preserved of the battlefield that are now part of the state park.
Land Saved by the American Battlefield Trust, accessed May 18, 2018.

Notes

External links

Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park - Florida State ParksPhotos of the annual Battle of Natural Bridge reenactmentNatural Bridge Historical SocietyUnion Account by Captain Thos. Chatfield
*http://m.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/post-time-the-civil-war-battle-of-natural-bridge/nkH5w/

References