The annual reenactment and memorial service for the Battle of Natural Bridge will be held on March 7-8 at the Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park south of Tallahassee.
Fought on March 6, 1865, this battle was one of the last significant Southern victories of the Civil War and preserved Tallahassee's status as the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi not captured by Union forces during the war.
The two days of events will include living history events, reenactments, etc. The main events will take place on Sunday, March 8th, with a short memorial service set for 1 p.m. (Eastern) immediately followed by the main battle reenactment.
The Battle of Natural Bridge was significant for a number of reasons. On the Confederate side, the troops fighting included the cadets from the West Florida Seminary (today's Florida State University). FSU's ROTC remains one of only three in the United States authorized by the Pentagon to carry a battle streamer. On the Union side, the battle involved the largest percentage of African American troops of any engagement in Florida. The 2nd and 99th U.S. Colored Troops fought at Natural Bridge, sustaining heavy casualties while making 8 separate charges against the Confederate defenders.
To learn more about the battle, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/nbindex.
No comments:
Post a Comment