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| Map of the St. Marks River mouth, showing disposition of Navy gunboats during the landing of troops. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies |
In the early days of 1865, with the war starting to wind
down, Union Army General John Newton decided to organize an assault on the
Florida state capitol, Tallahassee. He would land his troops at St. Marks and
march northward to the city. Perhaps some of his motivation was to try to
avenge the stinging defeat the Union Army had suffered a year earlier at
Olustee.
A joint Army/Navy task force began to land Union troops
near the lighthouse at the mouth of the St. Marks River on 3 March 1865. Heavy
weather hampered the operations, but all forces were landed by 5 March 1865.
Assisting in the operation were the Union Navy gunboats Stars and Stripes, Fort Henry,
Mahaska, Honduras, Hibiscus, and Britannia. Landing parties of sailors
and marines were also put ashore to capture critical bridges and occupy
Confederate forces at St. Marks to prevent their interfering with the Union
Army advance.
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| USS Hibiscus. Naval History and Heritage Command |
The Union forces were landed on the east side of the St.
Marks River, which meant they had to cross the river to advance on Tallahassee.
The Confederates burned a bridge over the river at Newport, which forced the
Union troops to head northward to cross the St. Marks River at a “natural
bridge” feature where it dips underground for a stretch. The Union column was
met at this feature by a rag-tag Confederate defense consisting of soldiers on
leave, local militia, and cadets from the West Florida Seminary (now Florida
State University) on 6 March 1865. Supported by several pieces of artillery,
the Confederate force repulsed multiple advances by the Union forces, who
ultimately withdrew back to their landing at the mouth of the river and were
evacuated by the Navy gunboats. The “Battle of Natural Bridge” was the second
largest land engagement in Florida after Olustee, and the result was the same; yet
another Union defeat. Tallahassee became the only Confederate state capitol
east of the Mississippi River that was not taken by the Union during the war.
The weekend of 7-8
March 2015, the 38th reenactment of the Battle of Natural Bridge was held at
the Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park (the site of the original
battle). This was a special event, as it commemorated the 150th Anniversary of
the battle. Reenactors from the USS Pawnee
Guard marines and USS Ft. Henry
Living History Association portrayed a naval landing party and, as they did in
the original engagement, provided flanking cover to the Union Army advance on
the battlefield.
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| Members of the Pawnee Guard (US Marines) and a sailor with the USS Ft. Henry Living History Association in camp at the Natural Bridge battle reenactment in March 2015. Courtesy Pawnee Guard. |
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| Just like in real life; "hurry up and wait." Marines and sailor waiting to go into action during the reenactment of the Battle of Natural Bridge. Courtesy Pawnee Guard. |
