American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

On this day (March 6th)in 1865, a ragtag conglomeration of Confederate units - including regular cavalry, partisan cavalry, old men hastily formed into militia, and cadets from the West Florida Seminary (today's Florida State University) - met and defeated a Union raiding force at the Battle of Natural Bridge, just south of Tallahassee. The site is where the St. Marks River briefly flows underground through a sinkhole for 1/4 of a mile, creating a natural land bridge to cross. Here the Rebels defending the norhtern side of the river met and repelled 3 Union assualts. The Union forces involved suffered around 25% casualties. At dark the Union units retreated back down the river to St. Marks and their awaiting flotilla of gunboats and ships.

This victory preserved Tallahassee as the only Confederate capitol East of the Mississippi River not to be captured by Union forces during the War.

http://www.civilwaralbum.com/misc2/naturalbridgefla1.htm

Regards,

Col. Alan Lynn
2nd Div, II Corps, AoA

Signal Corps, Assistant Editor

"The only accurate news is well researched history."

God Bless <><

Drat! We missed one [:(]

Major General Gary McClellan
1st Division, XXIII Corps
AoO,USA

If that danged ol' Bobby Lee hadn't surrendered so soon we would have had it. [8D]

General Mark Nelms
6/3/IX/AoO
"Blackhawk Brigade"

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by nelmsm</i>
<br />If that danged ol' Bobby Lee hadn't surrendered so soon we would have had it. [8D]

General Mark Nelms
6/3/IX/AoO
"Blackhawk Brigade"

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Nonsense! The Confederate commander at the battle said years later he was still waiting for Grant to come challenge him in battle, but he never did... [;)]



Regards,

Col. Alan Lynn
2nd Div, II Corps, AoA

Signal Corps, Assistant Editor

"The only accurate news is well researched history."

God Bless <><

Florida was a State then???[:D][:p]


General Jeff Laub
Union Chief of the Army
ACWGC Cabinet Member
http://www.geocities.com/laubster22/UnionHQ/

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by laubster22</i>
<br />Florida was a State then???[:D][:p]


General Jeff Laub
Union Chief of the Army
ACWGC Cabinet Member
http://www.geocities.com/laubster22/UnionHQ/
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Not only was it a state, but a former United States Senator from that state became the Secretary of the Navy for the Confederacy and performed exceedingly well, from what I've read. His name was Stephen Russell Mallory. I always thought there was no family connection, but my dad and one of his brothers visited 'Mallory Square' in southern Florida a year or two ago and brought back pictures. There is a bust of Stephen R. Mallory that looks like the spittin' image of my dad's brother!

Now, if we could just teach those Floridians how to count . . .


Your humble servant,
Gen 'Dee Dubya' Mallory

David W. Mallory
ACW - General, Chief of the Armies, Confederate States of America & Cabinet Member
CCC - Ensign, Georgia Volunteers, Southern Regional Deaprtment, Colonial American Army

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by dmallory</i>
<br /><blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by laubster22</i>
<br />Florida was a State then???[:D][:p]


General Jeff Laub
Union Chief of the Army
ACWGC Cabinet Member
http://www.geocities.com/laubster22/UnionHQ/
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Not only was it a state, but a former United States Senator from that state became the Secretary of the Navy for the Confederacy and performed exceedingly well, from what I've read. His name was Stephen Russell Mallory. I always thought there was no family connection, but my dad and one of his brothers visited 'Mallory Square' in southern Florida a year or two ago and brought back pictures. There is a bust of Stephen R. Mallory that looks like the spittin' image of my dad's brother!

Now, if we could just teach those Floridians how to count . . .


Your humble servant,
Gen 'Dee Dubya' Mallory
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

First off: The "Floridians" who have trouble counting are retired Yankee snowbirds and Cuban/Mexican/Haitian imigrants (many illegal), and we true Floridians lay no claim on the Southern tip of our state, known alternately as "Cuba North", "Little Havana", etc.

Second: Florida was not a big state, and only contributed around 14,000 men to the military cause of the Confederacy, but during the 1800s Florida was the largest cattle producing state in America and kept the Confederate armies fed with beef and salt to the extent that the loss of Florida would have shortened the war considerably due to lack of food. Cowboys began in Florida, not Texas/Kansas, etc. Once the west was opened up after the war the cattlemen moved into our current cattle belt, but before that it was mostly Florida - the bullwhips they used in herding the cattle and the snapping sound those whips make is where the term "Cracker" comes from. [:)]

Regards,

Col. Alan Lynn
2nd Div, II Corps, AoA

Signal Corps, Assistant Editor

"The only accurate news is well researched history."

God Bless <><