Natural Bridge, Battle of, Fla., 1865

The Battle of Natural Bridge was fought during the American Civil War near what is now Woodville, Florida south of 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 1⁄4-mile-long (400-meter) stretch along which the St. Marks River runs underground, after dropping into a sinkhole.