The Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida

Natural Bridge Battlefield State Historic Park is located just south of Tallahassee near Woodville, Florida. The park preserves key areas of the site where the Battle of Natural Bridge was fought on March 6, 1865. The battle preserved Tallahassee's status as the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi not taken by Union troops during the Civil War and also stands as one of the last significant Southern victories of the war.

The park includes monuments, interpretive signs and surviving Confederate earthworks from the battle. If you are interested in learning more about the Battle of Natural Bridge, just visit my pages at: http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/nbindex.

Thanks are in order

A few thanks are in order today. First, thank you to the kind people at the Jackson County Floridan newspaper in Marianna for the very nice article they ran last Sunday on my books: The Battle of Marianna, Florida and Two Egg, Florida.

The article exposed many people to the rich history of Northwest Florida and I am as thankful for that as I am for the nice reviews of the books.

A thank you is also due to the West Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Marianna. They are taking on sales of The Battle of Marianna, Florida as a camp fundraiser. I hope it does well for them and contributes to their efforts to better preserve and memorialize Jackson County's rich history.

Battle of Marianna Book Update

The book continues to do well. I did an interview yesterday with Kate McCardell of the Jackson County Floridan, Marianna's daily newspaper. So if you are in that area, be sure to watch for it. I'm not sure what day the article will appear, but within the next few days I'm sure.

Also, thanks to all the other newspapers across Northwest Florida that have run items on the book. The folks at Foster Folly News, the online newspaper in Chipley, were kind enough to run a photograph of the book cover as well. I'm not sure where all it has appeared, but I've had comments from throughout the area.

As always, you can get more information on the book and the Battle of Marianna at www.battleofmarianna.net

St. Marks Lighthouse

Towering over the Gulf Coast south of Tallahassee, the St. Marks Lighthouse is a surviving witness to the Union expedition that ended in the March 6, 1865, Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida.

Constructed during the 1830s, the lighthouse was the point at which Union troops under General John Newton came ashore on March 4, 1865, to begin a march they expected would end in the capture of Tallahassee and St. Marks. They were defeated at Natural Bridge south of the capital city by troops under Generals Samuel Jones and William Miller and retreated back to the lighthouse on March 7, 1865.

The lighthouse today is a popular attraction for visitors of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. To learn more, visit: http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/.

U.S. Arsenal - Chattahoochee, Florida

Our Civil War Florida "Photo of the Day" is of the officers' quarters building of the U.S. Arsenal in Chattahoochee (also called the Mt. Vernon Arsenal or Apalachicola Arsenal).

Constructed during the late 1830s, this building is one of the few that survive of the original arsenal complex, which was surrounded by a 30-inch thick brick wall.

On January 6, 1861, a state militia company from Quincy under Captain Will Gunn (sometimes misidentified as Capt. Dunn or Capt. Duryea) followed orders from Governor Madison S. Perry to take the arsenal from its small force of U.S. soldiers. No shots were fired.

The Confederacy later used the arsenal as a supply depot and training facility and after the war it became a prison and eventually the Florida State Hospital. The Officers' Quarters are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and today function as an administrative building for the hospital.

Old Fort Park (Fort Houstoun) - Tallahassee

Our "Florida Civil War Site of the Day" for today is Old Fort Park, in Tallahassee. The park is the site of Fort Houstoun (Houston), an earthern redoubt constructed to defend Tallahassee from attack during the winter of 1864-1865.

The earthworks are in very good condition and are about all that remains of the series of forts built by the Confederates to protect Tallahassee.

Troops were stationed here during the Battle of Natural Bridge (March 6, 1864), in case Union troops broke through and moved on the capital city.

This photograph is Copyright 2007 by Dale Cox, All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce without asking permission.

The Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida

I'm looking for any unknown eyewitness accounts of the Battle of Natural Bridge that might be out there. I have all of the standard material, but would love to find some additional first person accounts written by Confederate or Union soldiers or officers who participated in the battle.

If you have anything that might be of interest (letters, articles, diaries, etc.), I would really appreciate you getting in touch with me. Thanks!

Great Review!

I received a tremendous review on the new book (The Battle of Marianna, Florida) from Andrew Wagenhoffer, who publishes the Civil War Books and Authors website. You can read it at: (http://cwba.blogspot.com/).

I have great respect for Drew's thoughts on books dealing with the Civil War and, as you can tell, am thrilled by his review!

If you haven't purchased your copy yet, you can get more information by going to: http://www.battleofmarianna.net/. If you would like a signed copy, just drop me an email and let me know.

Fourth of July!

I hope you all have a great Independence Day! Please be safe and be sure to check in tomorrow as we begin sharing information and discussing the Civil War in Florida!

The Battle of Marianna, Florida

My latest book, The Battle of Marianna, Florida, is now available. This volume is a major expansion and revision of my earlier narrative, "The West Florida War," which was published in 1989.

The book is 168 pages long, footnoted, indexed and includes maps and photographs as well as detailed appendices. It is the only book now in print that deals exclusively with the small but highly significant Battle of Marianna.

For more information, visit my site at: http://www.battleofmarianna.net.

Civil War Florida

Welcome to my new blog! Our focus is the Civil War in Florida.