Just weeks before the Civil War ended, a group of Confederate soldiers, cadets, and old men held off a Union advance in the Florida wilderness - and Tallahassee became the only Confederate state capital east of the Mississippi never captured by Union forces.
The Battle of Natural Bridge took place in March 1865, as Union forces attempted to advance inland from the Gulf Coast toward Tallahassee. Confederate defenders, including teenage cadets from the Florida Military and Collegiate Institute, held the natural limestone crossing point of the St. Marks River against repeated Union assaults. The Union forces eventually withdrew, and Tallahassee remained in Confederate hands until the war's end just weeks later.
It's a footnote in the broader Civil War story, but a significant one for Florida - and the Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park preserves the site today, quiet and largely unknown to most visitors. Have you ever heard of the Battle of Natural Bridge? Drop a comment and follow The Real Florida for more overlooked stories from our state's Civil War history.
Thanks to Jaime Mille and Life in Florida for the inspiration.
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They're still holding that price, but today may be
last day of the sale. Grab a couple. I did.
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