Castillo de San Marcos (St. Augustine, Florida)
St. Augustine · Florida · Multiple conflicts including Queen Anne's War, War of Jenkins' Ear, American Revolutionary War, American Civil War, Indian Wars
History & Significance
The fort's construction was ordered by Governor Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega after a raid by English privateer Robert Searles in 1668 that destroyed much of St. Augustine and damaged the existing wooden fort. The fort was built from coquina stone—a shell-bonded sedimentary rock—quarried from Anastasia Island with labor performed by Native Americans from Spanish missions and skilled workers brought from Havana.
Construction lasted twenty-three years, beginning October 2, 1672 and completing in 1695. During Queen Anne's War, English colonial forces under Carolina Governor James Moore laid siege in November 1702, with about 1,500 residents and soldiers crammed into the fort during the two-month siege.
The coquina masonry was highly effective at absorbing cannonball impact. In June 1740, Georgia colonial Governor James Oglethorpe appeared with seven ships and bombarded the fort for 27 days, but realizing cannon fire was ineffective against the coquina walls, he attempted to starve the city through blockade before retreating.
When Britain gained control of Florida in 1763 pursuant to the Treaty of Paris, the fort was renamed Fort St. Mark until 1783 when it reverted to Spanish control. During the American Revolutionary War, the fort served as a military prison; among those held was Christopher Gadsden, a Continental Congress delegate and brigadier general, as well as three signers of the Declaration of Independence.
In the 1870s and 1880s, the U.S. Army used the fort as a prison for Native Americans, later serving as a processing center for Indian children awaiting transport to the Carlisle Industrial School. The fort housed Confederate troops during the Civil War and served as a military prison during the Spanish-American War.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Oldest masonry fort in continental U.S., built 1672 with coquina stone
- Star-shaped design with four bastions, visible from grounds
- Survived multiple sieges across Queen Anne's War, Revolutionary War, Civil War
- Interior exhibits on colonial Spanish, British, and American occupation periods
- Located in downtown historic St. Augustine with waterfront views
Sources
- https://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castillo_de_San_Marcos
- https://www.britannica.com/place/Castillo-de-San-Marcos-National-Monument
- https://castillodesanmarcos.org/construction/
- https://home.nps.gov/articles/sanmarcos.htm
- https://www.asce.org/about-civil-engineering/history-and-heritage/historic-landmarks/castillo-de-san-marcos