Natural Bridge

During the Civil War, Virginia’s Natural Bridge drew the interest of both Union and Confederate soldiers moving through the area. On May 26, 1864, Union Gen. David Hunter began a campaign from Cedar Creek near Winchester to drive out Confederate forces, devastate the Shenandoah Valley, and destroy transportation facilities at Lynchburg as part of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s wider strategy in Virginia. After defeating Gen. William “Grumble” Jones at Piedmont on June 5, Hunter marched to Lexington, burned Virginia Military Institute, and then moved toward Lynchburg. On June 14, 1864, his army passed near Natural Bridge on the way from Lexington to Lynchburg, and Union Col. David Hunter Strother wrote that they came within three miles of it, though some officers were disappointed not to see it. After Gen. Jubal A. Early repulsed Hunter at Lynchburg on June 17-18 and pursued him to West Virginia, Confederate troops traveling through the area also wanted to view the bridge. Assistant Surgeon Thomas Fanning Wood of the 3rd North Carolina Infantry later recalled visiting it on June 23, seeing the letters G. Washington carved in stone, hearing that George Washington had climbed the ledge, and recounting how Henry MacRae climbed to a dangerous point and had to be rescued by a rope from above. Once owned by Thomas Jefferson, Natural Bridge was one of the nation’s first tourist destinations and was heavily visited in the 18th and 19th centuries by travelers from around the world, including adventurous guests who were lowered over its edge in a steel cage while a violinist played.

Virginia · United States