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Photos from Castillo de San Marcos 1 S Castillo Dr St Augustine, FL 32084 during sunset over St. Johns County Florida at the Old City. HDR image processed in Photomatix Pro HDR software.
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One of my favourite forts to visit in the United States, the Spanish-built "Castillo de San Marcos." The fort was originally constructed to help rebuff the numerous and bloody pirate raids to which St. Augustine often fell prey.
It is the only existent 17th century fort in North America, and the fort has never been defeated.
The plaque at St. Augustine's City Gate. Note the cool celtic knotwork. It reads: "This gated, opened in 1739, provided the only access through the defense line on the north side of Spanish St. Augustine. Royal Engineer Manual de Hita built these coquina pillars in 1808. This tablet was originally erected in 1907 by the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in the State of Florida. It was revised to commemorate the tricentennial of Castillo de San Marcos in 1972." COOL.
The is a gun placement and old Spanish flag flying over the Castillo de San Marcos built by the Spanish, beginning in 1672. I hadn't visited it since I was in Father Gannon's Florida History course in 1974. Gannon, a professor at the University of Florida, and Catholic priest, taught the best history course I've ever taken. Before the course I thought Seminole's were the indigenous native American's in Florida. But nooooo, there were many tribes, the Calusa, Timucuans and so on, that the Spanish wiped out with disease brought from Europe. Interesting huh.
The Castillo de San Marcos, begun in 1672 and completed in 1695, has never been taken in battle. It is the oldest masonry fort and the best-preserved example of a Spanish colonial fortification in the continental United States.
The fort is built of coquina, a type of a limestone rock formed from shells (mostly the tiny coquina clam) cemented together by their own calcium over about 500,000 years. This coquina construction replaced nine successive wooden fortifications.
In 1702, during the War of the Spanish Succession, English troops occupied St. Augustine and unsuccessfully beseiged the fort for 50 days. Says the National Park Service brochure, "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."
The British again attacked the Castillo in 1740, this time for 27 days, without success. "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."
The brochure continues, "Spain held Florida until 1821, when serious Spanish-American tensions led to its cession to the United States. The Americans renamed 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."
Palisada del Pueblo de Madera Reconstruida - Interior.
The Castillo de San Marcos (St. Mark's Castle) is a stone fort adjacent to the old town of Saint Augustine, Florida. Early in the 16th century, Spanish Conquistadors had claimed Florida for Spain, but there was no further action until 1565. In that year, a Spanish expedition founded the town of Saint Augustine and the fort of San Marcos. Wooden defenses gave way to a stone castle built in 1671-1695. The castle was modified in the 18th and 19th centuries, to become the structure we see today. I visited this place on May 10, 2016.
El Castillo de San Marcos es un fuerte de piedra adyacente al casco antiguo de San Agustín, Florida. A principios del siglo XVI, los conquistadores españoles reclamaron la Florida para España, pero no hubo más acción hasta 1565. En ese año, una expedición española fundó la ciudad de San Agustín y el fuerte de San Marcos. Las defensas de madera dieron paso a un castillo de piedra construido en 1671-1695. El castillo fue modificado en los siglos XVIII y XIX, para convertirse en la estructura que vemos hoy. Visité este lugar el 10 de mayo de 2016.
The ravelin is a small triangular fort protecting the castle entrance.
Entrada al Revellín. El revellín es una pequeña fortaleza triangular que protege la entrada al castillo.
The Castillo de San Marcos (St. Mark's Castle) is a stone fort adjacent to the old town of Saint Augustine, Florida. Early in the 16th century, Spanish Conquistadors had claimed Florida for Spain, but there was no further action until 1565. In that year, a Spanish expedition founded the town of Saint Augustine and the fort of San Marcos. Wooden defenses gave way to a stone castle built in 1671-1695. The castle was modified in the 18th and 19th centuries, to become the structure we see today. I visited this place on May 10, 2016.
El Castillo de San Marcos es un fuerte de piedra adyacente al casco antiguo de San Agustín, Florida. A principios del siglo XVI, los conquistadores españoles reclamaron la Florida para España, pero no hubo más acción hasta 1565. En ese año, una expedición española fundó la ciudad de San Agustín y el fuerte de San Marcos. Las defensas de madera dieron paso a un castillo de piedra construido en 1671-1695. El castillo fue modificado en los siglos XVIII y XIX, para convertirse en la estructura que vemos hoy. Visité este lugar el 10 de mayo de 2016.