Last week we drove up to meet my parents around the half way point to begin this year's grandkid trips. Each year, they take the kids two at a time and enjoy some time with just the grandkids. It's good for everyone. They get special grandkid time, the kids get to deepen relationships with their grandparents, and Momma gets a bit of a break. Like I said, it's good for everyone. Since we were going to meet up, Gary and I made the decision to make part of the Gulf Coast Fellowship Meeting on Friday and spend the night to visit the Natural Bridge Battlefield Reenactment on Saturday. Approximately 3 and a half hours from our home, this could have been an all day, longer day trip but that might be pushing it with all there was to see and do at the reenactment.
Once we arrived we began by touring the camps and asking questions. Our first stop was the Confederate Camp, where a kind soldier walked up to our group and shared a little about the camp. He then answered questions. Rebecca asked him about the different positions and officers in the camp, and he took a lot of time describing the jobs within each tent, where four men would sleep and work together as a unit. Then he expounded on other jobs done within the camp and who the officers were and their responsibilities. After he shared that often times women and children would follow the camps so Katherine asked what her job would be. He told her what wives and daughters would do in the camps and she was disappointed that she couldn't start right away. Britt asked about signing up, as he has been convinced for some time that he would have fought on the side of states rights. He was told that at 15 he was technically too young to enlist, but that many young men would write 16 on a piece of paper and put it in their shoe so that they could say they were over 16. He was also told if he got the basic supplies he was old enough to join the reenactors as a fife or drummer boy, and in another year he could join as a soldier. We thanked him for his time and looked around the Confederate camp a bit before wandering over to the Union lines.
The first thing that greeted us behind the Union lines was a fife and drum corp warming up and practicing their songs. We listened for a bit and then Ruth and Rebecca had several questions about playing music for the cause. Ruth was delighted to learn that a good wooden fife is only around $100 to $150 and that a number of the songs were easy to learn. At 13 with the right supplies she could enlist as a musician in the Union army. Ruth for sometime has argued with Britt about the Civil War insisting that she would have fought for the Union, as the most important job would be preserving the United States as a whole. The fife player who had been playing the oboe since she was in high school, picked up the fife in her twenties, answered questions until her captain called for her to line up with the troops as they prepared to march out for the battle.
Our next stop as the soldiers were assembling was the tent where a number of wives and daughters were gathered. This was where they did laundry and sewing for their soldiers. We got the chance to view a Civil War style journal and write with an inkwell and fountain pen. It requires different hand positioning and strokes to keep the ink smooth and form the letters correctly. Some of the kids who have refused to draw certain letters from top to bottom found that they couldn't write them by pulling up on the pen. We then watched as they melted wax to seal a letter.
After that we crossed to the surgeon's tent and learned a bit about Civil War medicine and were able to see some actual period tools. The surgeon was very proud of his collection of antique implements, and shared their uses and explained that so many limbs were amputated because there was no way to mend a shattered bone at that point. Without rods and screws to repair them, the bones wouldn't heal and the fractured splinters of bone were a danger to blood vessels and muscle. He allowed the kids to handle actual bullets from the time as he walked them through the steps of a successful amputation, and showed them the invention that was formed during that time to use chloroform to knock out a patient but solve the problem of it also knocking out the surgeon. He had some rubber appendages and limbs scattered near his table, all liberally sprayed with vampire blood, and confided that a good Halloween store helped him with his set up.
Near the end of the camp was General Grant's tent. While he was never actually in Florida during the Civil War this gave the kids a chance to view some period maps, and view the Union script that was vastly different from the look of our dollar bills today. There were a few individuals there that were there to share information, but by this time the bulk of the soldiers were marching out toward the battlefield. So we also began making our way in that direction.
As we crossed back over to the Confederate lines we walked out through the militia. These men were of a broader age range and were dressed as ordinary men of the time. They shared information about many of the leading causes for separation most of them being economic issues relating to the changes being implemented by Northern states, who could out vote Southern states. They shared how most of the Southern soldiers didn't own slaves but fought to preserve the agrarian lifestyle and political ideals that the Revolutionary War was fought to secure. They shared the Southern Declaration of Independence and excepts from Jefferson Davis's first inaugural address. Finally they shared a little about how the victor writes history and so much of the truth of the developments leading to war were no longer taught. I thought they did a great job of sharing the complex truth of the Civil War, before they attempted to convert and recruit Britt to the Confederate cause.
On the way to the battle we made one last short stop by a Union supply wagon, where even Momma leaned something new. Despite the similar look, supply wagons were not Conestoga wagons. They shared how they would only travel by road and that they were more like the semi trucks of the day. The naval gentleman explained how they were used in the Battle of Natural Bridge to bring up supplies from the ships that landed at the coast to the sight of the battle. Interestingly enough they were always painted a bright, bright blue with red wheels.
It was finally time for the battle, before beginning a gentleman led us through the lead up to the battle. How the Union troops from the ships had sailed up the coast with the intention to capture Tallahassee. How the Confederates dismantled and burned every bridge they could just ahead of the Union lines. But there was a Union division of Floridians who told them about the natural bridge where for a short time the St. Mark's River goes beneath the ground, only to reemerge on the other side, so they advanced there. The Southern troops arrived first however and took positions to decimate the Union forces as they were bottled up crossing the Natural Bridge. He shared how this was a unique battle due to the number and types of different soldiers present. There were young recruits and old citizen soldiers for the Southern forces both militia and regulars. Then on the Northern side there were both soldiers and sailors as both the army and navy had advanced to try to take Tallahassee. He described how drag lines were used to haul the cannons from the ships all the way, approximately 19 miles. The Southern forces repelled 3 major attacks, and emerged victorious making Tallahassee the only Confederate capitol not captured during the war. After the battle the Confederates gave chase for the rest of the day, but didn't pursue the Union forces after that, so they escaped back to their ships with their cannons. This was one of the final major battles of the Civil War, occurring just a month before the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia in April of 1865.
The reenactment itself was exciting. Wave after wave of Union soldiers launched against the Confederate position only to withdraw and fight again. With the advanced arrival of the confederates and their fortified positions very few of them lost their lives. While the Union suffered much higher casualties. The most exciting part however, was the 5 Confederate cannons. They were positioned to fire almost parallel to the audience and unlike every other reenactment we've visited (except Gettysburg), they did live fire. This made the noise so much louder than any other cannon fire we've experienced. In fact, it scared Kate and she kept her ears covered the entire time. One of the shots even exploded into a tree sending splinters flying in every direction. The Union fife and drum corps also kept up a lively barrage of tunes throughout the battle. It was definitely a sight to behold.
After the battle ended we ate a late lunch and looked through the shops. Where I found a a gorgeous Civil War era gown with hoop skirts in my size for the price of $200 that Gary firmly vetoed, ha. Rebecca got her a pair of gloves, while Kate chose a red velvet hat that she intends to wear to Church tomorrow. We passed back through the camps where Ruth was able to ask one last question she had thought of, and a Confederate militia soldier gave us a CD on the history of the Confederate flag that he had promised us.
We would definitely recommend the area to anyone passing through. The kids spent a great deal of time discussing what they had learned and their thoughts on the way to the car and then on the drive home. If you are passing through I would highly recommend visiting during a reenactment, and engaging with the individuals there, but during the rest of the year you can visit and arrange for a ranger led tour. There is truly no better way to learn history than by seeing and interacting with it, so we highly recommend these stops when possible.
If you'd like to make a trip the address to this park is 7502 Natural Bridge Road, Tallahassee, Florida. They are open from sunrise to sunset, everyday. For more information you can call 850-487-7989. Entrance to the Park is $3 for a car load of up to 6 people over the age of six, however they do not charge this during the reenactment weekend, and instead encourage but do not require donations. Just be aware that they only accept cash, so since we didn't have any cash on us we didn't leave a donation and they just ushered us right in.
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