The Civil War of the United States

Battle of Natural Bridge, March 6, 1865

Natural Bridge Monument, erected in 1921
"LEST WE FORGET"

The Battle of Natural Bridge was a battle during the American Civil War, fought in what is now Woodville, Florida, near Tallahassee March 6, 1865. 

A small band of Confederate troops and volunteers, mostly composed of teenagers from the nearby Florida Military and Collegiate Institute, and the elderly, protected by breastworks, prevented Union forces (consisting of African-American soldiers of the United States Colored Troops) from crossing the Natural Bridge on the St. Marks River. This action prevented the Union from capturing the Florida capital and made Tallahassee the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi River not to be captured by Union forces during the war.

Secretary of State Tom Adams showing battle flag of Natural Bridge (1961)

A ceremony honoring the combatants on both sides of the Battle of Natural Bridge, followed by a reenactment of the battle featuring authentically-costumed Confederate and Union military and civilian re-enactors, is held at the park the first weekend of March every year. The site is now called Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park.