Castillo de San Marcos

Castillo de San Marcos National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Castillo de San Marcos National Monument Florida San Agustin Bastion San Carlos Bastion San Pedro Bastion Plaza de Armas Use this exploded birds­eye view to help you find your way as you ex­plore over 300 years of Florida history. The layout that Span­­ish engineer Ignacio Daza created for the Cas­tillo de San Marcos is simple and straightforward. This fortress is a hollow square with diamond-shaped bastions at each corner, with only one way in or out. In the bombproof storerooms that surround the central Plaza de Armas you will find Hours of Operation The park is open every day except Dec. 25 from 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. The main parking lot closes at 5:30 p.m. San Pablo Bastion museums highlighting various chapters of the fort’s long history. A good place to start is the corner rooms next to the well. Rest­rooms are located under the arched stairway leading to the gundeck. After you finish exploring the rooms below, make your way up the stairs and gaze out upon the waters of Matanzas Bay. From this com­ manding position, a garrison of Spanish troops safeguarded St. Augustine during the turbulent colonial era. Later English and then American troops also saw service here. All stood watch faithfully over the land Juan Ponce de León named, “La Florida.” For a Safe Visit Although the Castillo is over 300 years old, most of the damage to it has resulted not from past battles or sieges but from thousands of people each year. The fort is constructed of a unique sedimentary rock called Coquina, which, despite its obvious strength, is very fragile and susceptible to wear. • Please do not climb on the walls or sit on the stone surfaces. Also do not climb or sit on the cannon. • Always watch your step. Be careful of irregular steps, low walls with no railings, and loose, uneven surfaces. • Supervise children closely. Entrance For more information Castillo de San Marcos National Monument 1 S. Castillo Dr. St. Augustine, FL 32084 904-829-6506 www.nps.gov/casa Ravelin Shot Furnace Guard Rooms Plaza de Armas Well Powder Magazine Storage Rooms Chapel British Room A Guide to the Castillo Shot Furnace The U.S. Army filled in the east side of the moat in 1842–44 and mounted sea coast artil­lery pieces along the seawall. The shot furnace heated cannonballs until red hot. This hot shot was then fired at an enemy’s wooden ships to set them afire. Powder Magazine, 1675–87 This was the only vaulted chamber completed when the Castillo was built (the rest were add­ed during a later modernization). Its thick coquina walls were buried in the earth fill of San Carlos Bastion to protect the fort’s gunpowder from fire or enemy shot. Lack of ventilation, however, made it too damp in the small room to store powder. When larger, better vaults were built, the powder was moved and this room was used for other things. Chapel Religion was important in Span­ish daily life. In this chapel a priest conducted mass for the soldiers. With the in­tro­duc­tion of Christianity to the Indians in this area, various missions were established north and west of St. Augustine. The Spanish set up Florida’s mission system over 100 years before they set up missions in the American West. British Room, 1763–84 British troops moved to St. Augustine after Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain in ex­change for Moat Covered Way the fortified harbor and city of La Habana, Cuba, in 1763. Wooden second floors, like the one reconstructed in this casemate, were built in the high Spanish vaults to provide more space for quarters and supplies. British rule lasted for 21 years. Florida was returned to Spain at the close of the American Revolution in 1783. Plaza de Armas and Storage Rooms Despite their prison-like appearance, the rooms around the Plaza de Armas, or central courtyard, were storage areas. Here the Spanish stockpiled gunpowder, ammunition, weapons, lumber, tools, and food like dried beans, rice, flour, and corn. Since St. Augustine was not self-sufficient, such stockpiles of food and ammunition were an important part of the town’s defense during a siege. Guard Rooms St. Augustine was a garrison town or presidio, and no one lived inside the Castillo. The soldiers lived in town with their families and came to the fort to stand a rotating guard du­ty (usually 24 hours). At such times, they slept and prepared their meals in these rooms. The large fireplaces offered warmth on chilly days and provided an area for cooking. The platforms attached to the walls served as beds for the soldiers. Ravelin This triangular outer work shielded the fort’s only entrance from enemy fire. It was never finished as planned. If completed, the outer wall would have been five feet higher, with embrasures for cannon and a powder magazine. The drawbridge here and the main drawbridge are both working reconstructions. The ravelin bridge would have been secured each night at sunset; the main bridge was secured only when the fort was under attack. Moat/Glacis/Covered Way The Spanish kept the moat dry and, during sieges, used it as a pen for domestic animals. Whenever the fort was under land attack, the moat could be filled with sea water by opening flood gates on the seawall. Around the outside of the fort is a man-made slope called a glacis. This em­bank­ ment shielded and protected the lower fort walls from enemy cannon fire. The area be­tween the glacis and the moat is called the covered (covert) way. This allowed soldiers to leave the fort and still be covered or protected by this wall. Bastions Each of the fort’s four corners is protected by a diamond-shaped bastion. Cannons in one bastion were positioned to create a deadly crossfire with those in two other bastions. The bastions’ thick stone walls were packed solid with rubble and sand to support the immense weight of the cannon. Glacis Cubo and Rosario Lines Cubo and Rosario Lines After the British burned St. Augustine during the siege of 1702, the Spanish surrounded the town with a wall made of earth and palm logs, and a wide, shallow moat. The only entrance was from the north through City Gate. A portion of this wall, the Cubo Line, has been recovered on the park grounds. Well Three shallow wells in the Plaza de Armas provided water for the garrison. One of the wells still exists. Fresh water lies six to eight feet below the surface. ILLUSTRATION BASED ON ORIGINAL BY NPS / L. KENNETH TOWNSEND Outpost of Empire When the British attacked St. Augustine in summer 1740, they expected a quick and easy victory. They underestimated the strength of the Castillo de San Marcos and the cour­ age of its Spanish defend­ ers, some of whom are shown here responding to enemy artil­lery fire from across Ma­tanzas Bay. After besieging the town for 38 days the British gave up and returned to Georgia. ILLUSTRATIONS BASED ON ORIGINALS BY NPS / L. KENNETH TOWNSEND Rammer (Atacador) Worm (Sacatrapos) Sponge (Lanada) Ladle (Cuchara) The roots of the Castillo’s history reach back to the years just after Christopher Colum­ bus’s final transatlantic voyage, when conquistadores carved out a vast and wealthy over­seas empire for Spain, first in the Car­ ibbean and then on the mainlands of Mex­ico, Cen­tral America, Co­lom­­bia, Vene­zue­la, and Peru. Products of these tropical and mountainous territories brought high pric­es on the Continent, and Spanish galleons sailed home laden with ex­otic dyes, sugar, tobacco, chocolate, pearls, hardwoods, and silver and gold. These so-called “treasure fleets” made Spain the most powerful and envied nation in Renaissance Europe. Thanks to the travels of Ponce de León in 1513, Spanish navigators knew that the best return route from Spain’s rich Carib­be­an pos­ sessions was along the Gulf Stream, through the Bahama Channel, and past the shores of Florida. The Spanish knew they must defend this peninsula to prevent enemies from using its harbors as havens from which to raid the passing treasure fleets. In 1513 Spain claimed Florida through the expedition of Ponce de León, but France gained the first foothold there by establishing Fort Caroline on the St. Johns River in 1564. Seeing this as both a challenge to Spain’s claims and a menace to the treasure fleets, King Philip II sent an expedition under Don Pedro Menén­dez de Avilés to eliminate the French threat and establish settlements in Florida. It ar­rived at the mouth of the St. Johns River in September 1565. After attempting unsuccessfully to board the French ships anchored there, Menéndez sailed to a harbor farther south and established St. Augustine as a base for further op­erations. Almost immediately a French fleet sailed south to attack. But the ships were driven southward and wrecked by a violent storm and the mission failed. Re­ alizing that Fort Caroline would be lightly guarded, the Spaniards marched north, captured the fort, and executed most of the inhabitants. The same fate befell survivors from the French fleet, whom the Span- iards cap­tured and killed at an inlet 14 miles south of St. Augustine. The episode gave a name to the area: Matanzas, Spanish for “slaughters.” Spain’s New World Sea Routes England became Spain’s next contender for Florida. The Spanish had watched the Eng­lish warily ever since Sir Francis Drake at­tacked and burned St. Augustine in 1586. They became even more watchful after Eng­lish­ men settled Jamestown in 1607. Brit­ish pirates sacked St. Augustine again in 1668, and this hit-and-run attack, followed by the English settlement of Charleston in 1670, caused Spain to build the Castillo de San Marcos. Begun in 1672 and completed by 1695, the Castillo replaced nine successive wooden fortifications that had protected St. Augus­ tine since its founding. The fort’s commanding location on the west bank of Matanzas Bay allowed its guns to protect not only the harbor entrance but the ground to the north against a land attack. The Castillo’s baptism of fire came in 1702 during the War of the Spanish Succession, when the English occupied St. Augustine and unsuccessfully besieged the fort for 50 days. The English burned the town before they left, but the Castillo emerged un­scathed, thereby making it a symbolic link between the old St. Augustine of 1565 and the new city that rose from the ashes. Like a menacing dagger, the Florida peninsula thrusts toward the heart of Spain’s New World wealth. Richly laden Spanish gal­leons, sailing in convoy for protection against freebooters, en­ emy warships, and priva­ teers, followed wind and current in a great circle route from Spain west­ ward to Carib­bean ports, then northward from La Habana past Florida and eastward to home. To the Spanish, the French colo­ ny of Fort Caroline on the St. Johns Riv­er was a nest of pi­rates and a threat to the treasure fleets. In 1565 they destroyed it and es­tab­lished their own colo­ny—St. Augustine— making Florida a haven rather than a menace. 16th Century 17th Century 18th Century 1513 Sailing from Puerto Rico, Spanish claim Florida. 1672 Ground is broken on October 2 for Castillo de San Marcos. 1565 Spanish found St. Augustine and destroy French at Fort Caroline and Matanzas Inlet. 1695 Castillo de San Marcos (curtain walls, bastions, living quarters, moat, ravelin, and seawall) is finished in August. 1702 War of the Spanish Succession pits Spain and France against Austria, Great Britain, and others. Carolinians occupy and burn St. Augustine but the Castillo successfully re­sists their siege. 1740 St. Augustine successfully endures siege by British, Georgian, and South Carolinian forces. 1740–42 Fort Matanzas is built to block southern approach to St. Augustine. Coastal Georgia missions are destroyed by Carolin­ ians en route to St. Augus­tine. 1738 Spanish governor at St. Augustine grants freedom to runaway Brit­ish slaves. Black families settle at new town called Fort Mose. Spanish attack and defeat British Highland troops camped at Fort Mose. 1756–62 Fort Mose re­ built in masonry. Earth­ works at Mose extended to complete northernmost defense. tion over a vast geographical re­gion. The town’s principal value, though, was as a military base for the protection This map, drawn in 1764, shows St. Au­gustine the year after Great Britain took con­trol of Florida. It is based upon the surveys of Juan de Solis, a long­ time resident of the town. Right: St. Augus­ tine’s founder, Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. of Spain’s colonial trade and commerce. Spain held Florida until 1821, when serious Spanish-American tensions led to its cession to the United States. The Americans re­ named the Castillo Fort Marion and used it to house Indian prisoners during the Seminole War of 1835–42. Confederate troops oc­cu­pied it briefly during the Civil War and Indians captured in western military campaigns were held there later on. It was last used during the Spanish-American War as a military prison. Linstock (Botafuego) The key dates at right, arranged by century, are im­portant to the story of the development of the Castillo de San Marcos, whose coquina walls are silent reminders of Spain’s contributions to Florida and U.S. history. St. Augustine In 1763, as an outcome of the Seven Years’ (French and Indian) War, Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain in return for La Habana, Cuba. The British garrisoned Matanzas and strengthened the Castillo, holding the two forts through the American Revolution. The Treaty of Paris of 1783, which ended the war, returned Florida to Spain. Right: Artilleryman, Cas­ tillo de San Marcos, 1740 garrison Castillo Timeline Established in 1565 by Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, St. Augus­tine is the oldest permanent European set­­tlement in the continental United States. For 235 years it was the political, military, and religious capital of the Province of Flor­ida from which Spain ex­er­cised jurisdic- To strengthen the defenses, the Spanish erected new earthwork lines on the north and west sides of St. Augustine, thus making it a walled city. Matanzas Inlet, however, was still unfortified when Gen. James Ogle­ thorpe’s Brit­ish troops from Fort Frederica in Georgia attacked St. Augustine in 1740. Again the Castillo was besieged and Matanzas Inlet blockaded. But the Spanish did not waver during the 27-day British bombardment. The attack also taught the Spanish the strategic value of Matanzas Inlet and the need for a strong outpost there. Consequently, in 1742, they completed the present coquina tower. 1763 Peace of Paris gives Florida to Great Brit­ain in exchange for La Habana. Castillo becomes known as Fort St. Mark. 19th Century 20th Century 1821 Spain cedes Florida to the United States. 1924 Fort Marion and Fort Matanzas are proclaimed national monuments. 1935 National Park Serv­­ice begins exclusive administration of both na­tion­al monuments. 1933 Fort Marion and Fort Matanzas are transferred from the War Depart­ment to the National Park Service. 1942 Original name— Cas­tillo de San Marcos— is re­stored. 1825 Castillo de San Marcos renamed Fort Marion. 1783 Peace of Paris recognizes independence of the United States and re­turns Florida to Spain. St. Augustine is also perhaps the earliest ex­ ample of community planning within the con­­ tinental United States. This is exem­pli­fied by its regular and narrow streets, a pleas­ant central plaza, abundant open spac­es, beautiful patios and gardens, im­­ pressive government and religious buildings, and comfortable homes ­—­all suggesting an em­ phasis on the development of an orderly, dignified, healthy, and pleasant environment. The character of the city still reflects its vi­brant Span­­ish heri­tage. Right: The oldest house in St. Au­gustine, dating from the early 1700s. ABOVE AND RIGHT—LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ✩GPO:20xx—xxx-xxx/xxxxx Reprint 20xx Printed on recycled paper. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NPS Castillo de San Mar­cos was for many years the northernmost outpost of Spain’s vast New World empire. It is the oldest masonry fort and the best-preserved example of a Spanish colonial fortification in the continental United States. It anchored East Flor­ida’s defenses, which extended northward to the St. Marys River, westward to the St. Johns, and southward to Fort Ma­tan­zas. It protected St. Augustine from pi­rate raids and from Spain’s major rival, Great Britain, during a time when the Florida-Georgia-Carolina coast­line was an ex­­plosive international battleground.