St. Augustine, Florida #3 - Fort Matanzas National Monument

Returning now to our tour of beautiful and historic St. Augustine, Florida, one of my favorite points of interest there is Fort Matanzas National Monument.

Located on Highway A1A about 15 miles south of downtown St. Augustine, the national park preserves two sites of critical importance to Florida history. It was somewhere in this vicinity that in 1565, Spanish soldiers under Pedro Menendez de Aviles found shipwrecked French sailors and soldiers. Menendez had just returned from his destruction of the French settlement of Fort Caroline, at today's Jacksonville, and was on the hunt for Jean Ribault and his followers who had left the fort before the attack.

Menendez captured them in two groups at what is now Matanzas Inlet. Those who refused to convert to the Catholic faith (the French were Protestants), he put to the sword. Of the first group of 127 prisoners, 111 were killed on the sands of Matanzas. The name in Spanish, in fact, means "slaughter" or "killings."

Because Matanzas Inlet provided water access to St. Augustine, it was a dangerous "back door" to the city in times of war. To protect against attack via this route, the Spanish began construction of Fort Matanzas in 1740. Designed to work in conjunction with the Castillo de San Marcos to defend the water approaches to the city, it was a massive masonry tower. Constructed of local coquina rock, the fort measures 50 feet on each side and rises 30 feet above the surrounding marshes. It originally mounted five cannon, the largest of with was an 18-pounder.

The fort was attacked only once, by British forces under General James Oglethorpe in 1742, but a single shot from one of the Spanish cannon forced the attackers to withdraw.

Beautifully restored, the fort is now the centerpiece of Fort Matanzas National Monument. The main parking lot, nature trails and visitor center can be accessed by car via Highway A1A. The fort itself stands on Rattlesnake Island, but the National Park Service operates large tour boats to ferry visitors across to the fort. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortmatanzas1.

St. Augustine, Florida - Part One

This post begins a new series on beautiful and historic St. Augustine, Florida.

The oldest permanently occupied settlement in the continental United States, St. Augustine was already more than 40 years old by the time the English arrived at Jamestown, Virginia, and had been a thriving community for 56 years when the first Pilgrim set foot on Plymouth Rock. The number of "oldests" and "firsts" in the historic city is truly amazing.

Among them are the nation's oldest house, oldest masonry fort, oldest public park and oldest wooden schoolhouse. The Catholic Church has been active in St. Augustine since 1565, making it the oldest active religious organization in the United States.

Founded in 1565 by the Spanish military leader Pedro Menendez de Aviles, the city initially served as a fortified outpost against French expansion along the Atlantic seaboard. Soldiers from St. Augustine destroyed the French settlement of Fort Caroline at present-day Jacksonville, putting its garrison to the sword. Those who escaped the slaughter were captured near Fort Matanzas National Monument a short time later and were also massacred.

With the French presence in Florida thus exterminated, the Spanish settled into a centuries long effort to colonize Florida and built the city of St. Augustine.

Beginning with the next post, I will explore some of my favorite historic sites in the old city. Until then, you can learn more by visiting www.exploresouthernhistory.com/staugustine1.

Fort Matanzas - The Other Guardian of St. Augustine

Untold numbers of people have explored the historic stone walls and ramparts of the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine over the years, but fewer are aware that another old Spanish fort also stands on the banks of the Matanzas River south of the city.

Fort Matanzas National Monument preserves the unique old structure built by the Spanish in 1740-1742 to guard the southern approaches to St. Augustine. Measuring 50 feet on each side with a 30 foot tower, all built of native coquina stone, it is one of America's most unique forts.

Located on an island near the mouth of the river, the fort is accessible by National Park Service tour boats that cross the river from the visitor center of the park throughout the day during good weather. It is a short voyage well worth taking.

Once on the island, visitors can explore the old fort and even climb up to the top of the tower for a panoramic view of the coastal area.

Fort Matanzas fired its cannon only once in anger, when a British force led by Gen. James Oglethorpe arrived off Matanzas Inlet just after the completion of the fort in 1742. The Spanish artillerymen opened fire on a boat party led by Oglethorpe, but in a unique display of the chivalry of the day, stopped firing after it became apparent that the British boats were in danger of sinking. Oglethorpe retreated to his ships and with just a few shots, the fort had proved itself worth the cost of its construction.

To learn more please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortmatanzas1.