Battle of Natural Bridge

Battle of Natural Bridge
Part of the American Civil War

Natural Bridge Monument
DateMarch 6, 1865
Location30°17′02″N 84°09′07″W / 30.28389°N 84.15194°W / 30.28389; -84.15194
Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States United States (Union) Confederate States of America CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
John Newton Sam Jones
William Miller
Units involved
2nd Florida Cavalry Regiment
2nd U.S. Colored Infantry
99th U.S. Colored Infantry
1st Florida Militia
5th Florida Cavalry Battalion (~30)
Kilcrease Artillery
Dunham’s Battery
Abell's Battery
Company A, Milton Light Artillery
Barwick’s Company Reserves
Hodges' Company Reserves
Companies A, B, and F; Florida Reserves
Reinforcements from Georgia
Florida Military and Collegiate Institute Battalion
2nd Florida Cavalry (Confederate)
Strength
700 1,000
Casualties and losses
148 total
21 killed
89 wounded
38 captured
26 total
3 killed
23 wounded
Map of Natural Bridge Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program.

The Battle of Natural Bridge was fought during the American Civil War in what is now Woodville, Florida near Tallahassee 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 14-mile-long (400-meter) stretch along which the St. Marks River runs underground, after dropping into a sinkhole.[1]

  1. ^ "Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park". StateParks.Com. Retrieved August 27, 2016.