Civil War Trails: Natural Bridge

I wasn't expecting a Civil War Trails sign in front of the visitors center at Natural Bridge, but there it was: "Natural Bridge — Time Out for Touring — Hunter's Raid."

It starts with a summary of the 1864 Campaign of Union General David Hunter's army, including the Battle of Piedmont, the burning of VMI, and his defeat at Lynchburg. Then it describes the armies visiting Natural Bridge.

On June 14, 1864, Union Gen. David Hunter’s army marched near here en route from Lexington to Lynchburg. Union Col. David Hunter Strother wrote, “We passed within three miles of the Natural Bridge. Officers were much disappointed by not being able to see it. Lieutenant Meigs and some others did go by that road.”

After Hunter’s attack on Lynchburg was repulsed June 17-18, Confederate troops passing through this area wanted to view Natural Bridge. Assistant Surgeon Thomas Fanning Wood of the 3rd North Carolina Infantry later wrote in his memoirs, “On the 23rd started on the march towards Lexington, and on the same day I got permission to visit or go by the Natural Bridge. … We had pointed out to us the letters G. Washington carved in stone, which were once quite plain, but time has nearly effaced the last vestige of them. … The story was that George Washington had climbed this ledge to the top. None of us tried this experiment, but we learned that Henry MacRae [of the regiment] … climbed to a very dangerous point, and finding he could not get to the top had to be rescued by a rope let down from above.”

• See the rest of this marker on HMDB.org.
• See my Civil War Field Trips page on the Battle of Piedmont
• Earlier Post: Battle of Lexington