Guide and Advisor

This British musket dates from 1777-90 and is of the type that would have been used by the British forces stationed at the Castillo from 1763 to 1784. It is 4 feet, 8 inches long.

So, having finished the vaults, the builders moved outside and worked until money ran out in the spring of 1758. The break lasted until 1762, by which time Britain and Spain were again at war. Spain, as an ally of France, got into the fracas just at the time when Britain had eliminated France as a factor in the control of North America and was quite ready to take on Spain. And this time the British would capture the pearl of the Antilles—Havana itself.

Havana was well fortified, and the general officers sitting there were perhaps more worried about St. Augustine than Havana. They released 10,000 pesos for strengthening the Florida fortifications and sent Engineer Pablo Castelló, who had been teaching mathematics at the military college in Havana, to assist the ailing Pedro Brozas.

St. Augustine had only 25 convicts for labor, but when work began on July 27, 1762, many soldiers and townspeople sensed the urgency, for Havana was already besieged, and volunteered to help. Since much of the project was a simple but strenuous task of digging and moving a mountain of sand from borrow pit to earthwork, all able-bodied people were welcome. The volunteers did, in fact, contribute labor worth more than 12,000 pesos. The only paid workers were the teamsters driving the 50 horses that hauled the fill. Each dray dumped 40 cubic feet of earth, and the hauling kept on until the covered way had been raised five more feet to its new height.

The masons soon finished a stone parapet, six feet high, for the new covered way. With this wall in place, the teamsters moved outside the covered way and began dumping fill for the glacis. This simple but important structure was a carefully designed slope from the field up to the parapet of the covered way. Not only would it screen the main walls and covered way, but its upward slope would lift attackers right into the sights of the fort cannon.

Meanwhile, to replace the 1682 ravelin, Castelló began a new one with room for five cannon and a powder magazine. He realigned the moat wall to accommodate the larger work and pushed the job along so that as December of 1762 ended, themasons laid the final stone of the cordon for the ravelin. They never started its parapet, for the close of the year brought the devastating news that Spain would give Florida to Great Britain.

So Spain’s work on the fort ended. And although ravelin and glacis were not finished, Castillo de San Marcos was a handsome structure. The main walls were finished with a hard, waterproofing, lime plaster, shining white in the sunlight with the brilliance of Spain’s olden glory. In the haste of building, engineers had not forgotten such niceties as classic molded cornices, pendants, and pilasters to cast relieving shadows on stark smooth walls. At the point of each bastion was color—the tile-red plaster of the sentry boxes. White and red. These were Spain’s symbolic colors, revealed again in the banner floating above the ramparts.

With walls high over the blue waters of the bay, its towers thrusting toward the clouds, and guns of bright bronze or iron pointed over turf and sweep of marsh toward the gloom of the forest or the distant surf breaking on the bar, San Marcos was properly the background for Florida’s capital. In the narrow streets that led to the citadel, military men and sailors mingled with tradesman and townsfolk. Indians, their nakedness smeared with beargrease against the bugs, were a strange contrast to the silken opulence of the governor’s lady. But this was St. Augustine—a town of contrasts, with a long past and an uncertain future.

The day of the transfer to British rule was July 21, 1763. At Castillo de San Marcos, Gov. Melchor de Feliú delivered the keys to Maj. John Hedges, at the moment the ranking representative of George III. The Spanish troops departed Florida, and with them went the entire Spanish population. The English were left with an empty city.

The defenses they found at St. Augustine were far stronger than the ones that had stopped Oglethorpe in 1740. The renovated Castillo, which the new owners called Fort St. Mark, was the citadel of a defense-in-depth system that began with fortified towers at St. Augustine and Matanzas inlets and blockhouses at the St. Johns River crossings. Since St. Augustine was on a small peninsula with Matanzas Bay on one side and the San Sebastián River on theother, there was only one way to reach the city by land; and Fort Mose, rebuilt and enlarged after 1740, guarded this lone access. In 1762 Mose also became the anchor for a mile-long defense line across the peninsula to a strong redoubt on the San Sebastián. This earthwork, planted at its base with prickly pear, protected the farmlands behind it. Just north of the Castillo, the hornwork spanned the narrowest part of the peninsula. A third line stretched from the Castillo to the San Sebastián, and this one was intersected by a fourth line that enclosed the town on west and south. Along the eastern shore was the stone seawall. One by one, these defenses had evolved in the years after 1702.

Such defensive precautions seemed outmoded, now that all eastern North America was under one sovereignty. Obviously the old enmities between Florida and the English colonies had departed with the Spaniards; Britain saw no need for concern about the fortifications. No need, that is, until the Thirteen Colonies showed disquieting signs of rebellion. And as rebellion flamed into revolution, St. Augustine entered a new role as capital of George III’s loyal province of East Florida.

In the summer of 1775, after Lexington and Concord, British concerns about the Castillo’s state of repair could be seen. The gate was repaired and the well in the courtyard, which had become brackish, was re-dug. In several of the high-arched bombproofs, the carpenters doubled the capacity by building a second floor, for St. Augustine was regimental headquarters and many redcoated troops were quartered in Fort St. Mark.

By October 1776 the British had renovated two of the three lines constructed north of the city by the Spaniards. In place of the old earthwork that hemmed in the town on the south and west, however, they depended on a pair of detached redoubts at the San Sebastián, one at the ford and the other at the ferry. Later they added five other redoubts in the same quadrant. Many improvements were made to the outer works as well.

Behind the thick walls of the fort were stored weapons and equipment that went to arm British forces for repeated use against the rebellious colonials to the north. The damp prison also held a number of these colonists.

It is impossible to fully retrieve the past, to know what it was actually like to live in another time, to understand the cadences of another life. Some disciplines work at peeling back the layers of time and attempt to explain those bygone days. Archeology is one of these sciences. By retrieving the remains of the material culture, by seeing a plate that held food, a bottle that held oil, a dish in which herbs were ground to make medicine, the connection with those long gone personages begins to be made. The objects on the next page are among more than 1,000 items that have been retrieved from digs in and around the Castillo and St. Augustine.Bottle bodyDish fragment, majolicaSpanish olive jarChina accordion playerPlate fragment, majolicaDish with caduceus (medical symbol)Platter base fragment, slipwareBowl fragment, pearlware-mochaware

Bottle body

Dish fragment, majolica

Spanish olive jar

China accordion player

Plate fragment, majolica

Dish with caduceus (medical symbol)

Platter base fragment, slipware

Bowl fragment, pearlware-mochaware

Even as the British were working to secure the Castillo against a possible attack, international events brought Spain back into the picture. In 1779 Spain declared war on Britain after France promised help in retrieving Florida, if the powers allied against Britain were victorious. One Spanish plan even had the Spaniards launching a surprise attack on the Castillo: Troops would sail upriver from Matanzas, land south of town, sweep north through St. Augustine, and take the Castillo by storm. If this failed they would settle in for a siege. At the last minute, practically, the authorities decided to attack Pensacola, on Florida’s Gulf Coast, instead. A Spanish attack on the British inside a fortress designed and built by Spanish engineers would have been full of irony.

In the settlement after the Revolution, the Spaniards did indeed recover Florida, and on July 12, 1784, the transfer took place.

The Spaniards returned to an impossible situation. The border problems of earlier times had multiplied as runaway slaves from Georgia found welcome among the Seminole Indians, and ruffians from both land and sea made Florida their habitat.

Bedeviled by these perversities and distracted by revolutionary unrest in Latin America, Spain nevertheless did what had to be done at the Castillo—repairs to the bridges, a new pine stairway for San Carlos tower, a bench for the criminals in the prison. In 1785 Mariano de la Rocque designed an attractive entrance in the neoclassic style for the chapel doorway. It was built, only to crumble slowly away like the Spanish hold on Florida.

Defense strategies had changed too, over the years. The British had built a few redoubts to cover vulnerable approaches on the west and south. The Spaniards on their return adapted the British works but also greatly strengthened the long wall from the Castillo to the San Sebastián River. They widened its moat to 40 feet, lined the entire length of the 9-foot-high earthwork with palm logs, and planted it with prickly pear. The three redoubts were armed with light cannon, and a new city gate was completed in 1808. Its twin towers of white masonry were trimmed with red plaster, and each roof was capped with a pomegranate, a symbol of fertility.

Even though San Marcos remained a bulwark against American advances, Florida had lost its former importance to Spain as independence movements sprang up in one South American Spanish colony after another. Constant pressure from the expanding United States finally resulted in Spain’s ceding Florida to the United States. Perhaps Spanish officials signed the papers with a sigh of relief, glad to be rid of a province so burdensome and unprofitable for 300 years. On July 10, 1821, the ensign of Spain fluttered down to the thunderous salute of Castillo cannon, and the 23-star flag of the United States of America was hauled aloft.

In this new era, the aging fort was already a relic. Fortunately for its preservation, the US. strategy for coastal defense did not require much alteration of the Castillo. U.S. Army engineers added only a water battery in the east moat, mounted a few new guns on the bastions, and improved the glacis during the 1840s.

The fort’s name was also changed, for the Americans chose to honor Gen. Francis Marion, Revolutionary leader and son of the very colony against whose possible aggression San Marcos had been built. Congress restored the original name in 1942, almost 20 years after the fort had been designated a national monument.

Heavy doors and iron bars that once protected precious stores of food and ammunition made the old fort a good prison, and the prison days soon obscured the olden times when Spain’s hold upon Florida depended upon the strength of these walls and the brave hearts that served here.

Now the echo of the Spanish tongue has faded and the scarred walls are silent. The records tell of the people who built and defended the Castillo—and those who attacked it, too. In the archives are countless instances of unselfish zeal and loyalty, the cases of Ransom, Collins, and Carr, the crown’s patriarchal protection of its Indian vassals, the unflagging work of the friars. The structure itself tells its own story. As William Cullen Bryant, 19th-century poet wrote: “The old fort of St. Mark is a noble work, frowning over the Matanzas, and it is worth making a long journey to see.”

The Spanish government constructed replicas of Christopher Columbus’ three ships to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his voyage to America. The ships followed Columbus’ route across the Atlantic and made calls at ports throughout the Americas. Here theSanta Maria, in the foreground,Pinta, andNiñavisit St. Augustine in 1992.

Soldiers crossing the moat

NPS Ranger

St. Augustine is the oldest, continuously inhabited city founded by Europeans in the present-day United States. It represents the beginnings of contact between Spanish settlers and the native inhabitants, the emergence of the Hispanic American, the struggle between Spanish, French, and English settlers for control of the southeastern Atlantic coast, and ultimately the birth of the United States.

As well as being an old city, with many historic houses on quiet, narrow streets, St. Augustine is a bustling modern city with a range of facilities and accommodations to meet all expectations and travel budgets.

Begin your visit to the city at the Visitor Information Center on San Marco Avenue, opposite the Castillo. Here you can get free information, maps, and answers to your questions from the staff. The center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Limited parking is available for patrons. You may write: Visitor Information Center, P.O. Drawer 210, St. Augustine, FL 32085; or call 904-825-1000. Additional information is available from the St. Augustine and St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, 1 Ribera Street, St. Augustine, FL 320841 or call 904-829-5681.

St. Augustine is a wonderful city to walk in, for it is compact and easy to find your way around. Take time to leave the main streets and walk through residential areas to get a feel for the city and the way it was laid out. St. Augustine has its own personality and charm that distinguish it from such other colonial communities as Williamsburg, Charleston, and Santa Fe. Today’s St. Augustine bears the imprint of Henry Flagler (1830-1913), a close partner of John D. Rockefeller in the development of the Standard Oil Company and a railroad tycoon in Florida. Flagler bought several small railroads in Florida, consolidated them, and laid track that eventually ran from Jacksonville to Key West. Along with his railroad he built luxury hotels in Daytona, Palm Beach, Miami, and St. Augustine and helped to create the tourist industry that has played such an important role in Florida’s economy in the 20th century. Flagler’s legacy lives on in St. Augustine where Flagler College occupies the former Hotel Ponce de Leon at Cordova and King streets and in the Lightner Museum housed in the old Alcazar Hotel across the street from the college. The St. Johns County Courthouse and the St. Augustine City Hall also occupy Flagler buildings. Flagler is buried on the grounds of the Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church.

St. George Street, a pedestrian walkway between Castillo Drive and Cathedral Place, is lined with shops and restaurants of every type and description. TheSpanish Quarter, a restored 18th-century portion of the city, is a living history museum operated by the state of Florida on the north end of St. George Street. Along this street a number of residences dating back more than two centuries have either been reconstructed or restored by the St. Augustine Restoration and Preservation Commission. Some of them may be open to the public. But do not assume that they are. Inquire at the Visitor Information Center for specific information about opening and closing times.

The Oldest House, located at the corner of St. Francis and Charlotte streets,is administered by the St. Augustine Historical Society. Guides give house tours, for which there is a charge. The adjacent museum tells the story of St. Augustine and of the people who lived here through the four centuries of the city’s history. InGovernment House, at the corner of St. George and King streets, the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board, an agency of the state of Florida, also runs a museum that tells a more inclusive story of Spanish Florida, includingFort Mose, the oldest free black settlement in the United States.

The Castillo de San Marcos is one of the oldest structures in North America built by Europeans. It is one of the few links on this continent to early modern Europe and a way of warfare that has become obsolete. Park interpreters give frequent programs at the fort telling its history and explaining its construction. They can answer questions you have about the history of the area and about related National Park System sites. You may wish to walk around the Castillo at your own pace; a free park folder available at the entrance station will help you find your way.

A sales outlet to the left of the guard rooms as you enter the Castillo offers books and pamphlets on the history of Florida and Spanish colonization. Some souvenirs and postcards are also available.

Parking is limited at the Castillo and in St. Augustine. Because of the limited parking, therefore, you may wish to take one of the sightseeing tours around the city. Information is available at the Visitor Information Center. For further information about the Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas, write: Superintendent, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, 1 Castillo Drive East, St. Augustine, FL 32084.

Florida A1A north or south takes you to some of the most beautiful beaches on the east coast. A fee buys a permit from county authorities to drive on county beaches during the summer months. There is also a charge for parking at Anastasia State Recreation Area.

St. Augustine has a variety of accommodations: national chains, locally owned hotels and motels, bed and breakfast inns, and vacation cottages and condominiums for rent by the day, week, or longer.

BesidesCastillo de San Marcos, several other National Park System sites in Florida preserve and interpret aspects of Spanish colonial history. They are located on the map and described below.

Map

No one knows exactly where Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto landed on Florida’s west coast in 1539. This park at the entrance to Tampa Bay memorializes that landing and de Soto’s subsequent journeys of exploration throughout the southeastern United States.

The establishment of a French colony here in 1564 directly challenged the Spaniards, who responded by establishing Saint Augustine the next year. After securing a firm base of operations, the Spaniards led by Pedro Menéndez marched to the French settlement and captured it, ending French interest in the area.

On this site Spanish troops killed French soldiers who were part of the ill-fated attempt to establish a French settlement in Florida. In 1740, after the failed English attack on Saint Augustine, the Spaniards built a masonry fortification—Fort Matanzas—on Rattlesnake Island overlooking Matanzas Inlet to control the inlet permanently.

The ravelin of Fort Barrancas, located on the grounds of the Pensacola Naval Air Station, is another Spanish masonry fortification in Florida besides the Castillo and Fort Matanzas. It is called Battery San Antonio and dates from 1797. It was planned as part of a larger fortification never built by the Spaniards. Fort Barrancas, built by the U.S., dates from the early 19th century.

Besides these parks in Florida there is one in Georgia (not shown on themap) that bears importantly on the story of St. Augustine.

It was at Fort Frederica that James Edward Oglethorpe established a settlement in 1736 only a few days march north of St. Augustine in territory that the Spaniards clearly believed to be their own.

Fort Matanzas National Monument

Fort Caroline National Memorial

★ GPO: 1993—342-396 80002

National Park Handbooks are published to support the National Park Service’s management programs and to promote understanding and enjoyment of the more than 360 National Park System sites that represent important examples of our country’s natural and cultural inheritance. Each handbook is intended to be informative reading and a useful guide before, during, and after a park visit. More than 100 titles are in print. They are sold at parks and can be purchased by mail from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325.

The National Park Service expresses its appreciation to all those persons who made the preparation and production of this handbook possible. The original text for this handbook was written by Albert Manucy and Luis Arana and appeared asThe Building of the Castillo de San Marcos. The vault construction, drawbridge, and siege illustrations on pages33,34, and47are based on artwork originally developed by Albert Manucy. The National Park Service also expresses its appreciation to Eastern National Park and Monument Association for its cooperation in this project. All photos and artwork not credited below come from the files of the Castillo de San Marcos or of the National Park Service.

As the Nation’s principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally-owned public lands and natural resources. This includes fostering sound use of our land and water resources; protecting our fish, wildlife, and biological diversity; preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places; and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources and works to ensure that their development is in the best interest of all our people by encouraging stewardship and citizen participation in their care. The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in island territories under U.S. administration.

Castillo de San Marcos: a Guide to the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Florida/produced by the Division of Publications, National Park Service. p. cm.—(National Park Handbook; 149)

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