Castillo de San Marcos

Castillo de San Marcos

Castillo de San Marcos

The Castillo de San Marcos is a Spanish built fort located in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. It was known as Fort Marion from 1821 until 1842, and Fort St. Mark from 1763 until 1784 while under British control.

Early history
The city of St. Augustine was founded in 1565. Over the next one hundred years, the city was defended by nine wooden forts. Following an attack in 1668, it was decided by the Queen Regent of Spain, Mariana, that a masonry fortification be constructed to protect the city. In October 1672 construction began on the fort that would become the Castillo de San Marcos.

Construction
The Castillo is made of a stone called "coquina", literally "little shells". This is what the stone is made of, ancient shells that have bonded together to form a type of stone, similar to limestone. Workers were brought in from Havana, Cuba to construct the fort. The coquina was quarried from Anastasia Island across the bay from the Castillo, and ferried across to the construction site. Construction lasted twenty-three years, being completed in 1695.

First test
In 1670, Charles Town (modern-day Charleston, South Carolina) was founded by the British. Being just two days sail from St. Augustine, this was one of the events that spurred the fort's construction. In November 1702, forces under orders from Governor James Moore of Charles Town, set sail from Carolina in an attempt to capture the city. Upon their arrival at St. Augustine, the British laid siege to the city. All of the city's residents, some 1,200 people, along with all of the fort's soldiers, some 300, remained protected inside the wall of the fort for the next two months during the siege.

The British cannon had little effect on the walls of the fort. The coquina was very effective at absorbing the impact of the shells, allowing very little damage to the walls themselves. The siege was broken when the Spanish fleet from Havana, Cuba arrived, trapping the British in the bay. The British were forced to burn their ships to prevent them from falling into the Spaniards' hands, and march overland back to Carolina. As they withdrew, they set fire to the city of St. Augustine, burning much of it to the ground.

Second period of construction

After the siege of 1702, the Castillo underwent a period of reconstruction. Beginning in 1738, the interior of the fort was redesigned and rebuilt. Interior rooms were made deeper, and vaulted ceilings replaced the original wooden ones. The vaulted ceilings allowed for better protection from bombardments and allowed for cannon to be placed along the gun deck, not just at the corner bastions. The new ceilings required the height of the exterior wall to be increased from 26 to 33 feet.

Second British siege

Tensions between Great Britain and Spain had been on the rise for years, and in 1739, Great Britain declared war on Spain, the conflict known as the War of Jenkins' Ear. As part of the war, British General James Oglethorpe laid siege to the Castillo and the city of St. Augustine. Governor Manuel de Montiano, the Spanish governor of St. Augustine, prepared the defenses of the Castillo and the Spanish colony. Oglethorpe set out from the newly created colony of Georgia and invaded Spanish held land. After capturing the Spanish outposts of Fort San Diego, Fort Picolotta, and Fort Mose he marched his troops toward St. Augustine.

General Oglethorpe landed his troops on Anastasia Island across the inlet from the Castillo and the city. He began firing on the Castillo in hopes that a sustained bombardment and blockade would force the governor of Florida to surrender. However, a small vessel managed to get through the blockade by evading the lone British ship guarding the Matanzas Inlet to the south of Anastasia Island and set sail for Havana, Cuba. When they returned, found that the ship guarding the inlet had gone, allowing supplies to be brought to the Castillo without opposition. On the morning of the 38th day of the siege, the coquina walls of the Castillo had once again withstood British bombardment, and the British had withdrawn their forces from the area.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Castillo de San Marcos".

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Castillo de San Marcos

Castillo de San Marcos