Paul & Tara Visit the National Parks: May 2023

Friday, May 19, 2023

Fort Matanzas National Monument

Visited: Nov 2022

Nearby city: St. Augustine, FL

Last week's post was devoted to the large Spanish fort that protected the main harbor of St. Augustine, Castillo de San Marcos. Read about that visit here:

https://paulnationalparks.blogspot.com/2023/05/castillo-de-san-marcos-national-monument.html

If you go to Castillo de San Marcos, make sure to also head about 15 miles south and check out the small, isolated outpost of Fort Matanzas.

Fort Matanzas lies along the Matanzas River. The Matanzas River is actually an estuary - a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water (a mix of freshwater and saltwater). The Matanzas (Spanish word meaning "slaughters" or "killings") River is so named because it marks the spot where the Spanish Conquistador and founder of St. Augustine, Pedro Menendez de Aviles, executed 245 French Huguenots who had shipwrecked on their way to Fort Caroline (a short-lived unsuccessful French colony in Florida - near present-day Jacksonville). Menendez had been ordered by the Spanish crown to execute all Protestants he encountered in the New World.

Fort Matanzas was built along the Matanzas Inlet, the southern mouth of the Matanzas River. It was a strategic location to block any invasion of St. Augustine from the south. The Fort was built in 1742. It protected the "back-door" of St. Augustine.

Start your visit at the Visitor's Center and get a free ticket for the ferry out to the Fort (the ferry is your only option to tour the fort). You cannot reserve a ticket, you show up at the Visitor Center in person to get your ticket on a first-come first-served basis. The ferry shuttles visitors throughout the day, check the park website for times. NOTE *the ferry does not run on Mondays and Tuesdays*

It's a short ferry ride to the Fort, which sits on the small barrier island of Rattlesnake Island. We visited on a very rainy, overcast day. 😀

The Fort overlooks the Matanzas Inlet

approaching the Fort on the ferry

a rare, cold day in Florida

Like Castillo de San Marcos, Fort Matanzas is also built out of coquina, ancient seashells that have bonded to form a sedimentary rock similar to limestone. The Fort was small; a square-building 50-ft long on each side and a 30-ft high tower. The Spanish referred to the structure as Torre de Matanzas (Matanzas Tower). It was manned by one officer (who was in charge), four infantrymen, and two gunners. The soldiers served on rotation from their regular duty at Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine.

Five cannon were placed at the fort, four six-pounders and one eighteen-pounder. All five cannons could reach the inlet, which was only about a half-mile away.

Once your ferry docks, the Ranger will give you a guided tour of the Fort and tell you all about the lonely life of the soldiers stationed here and the rather harsh conditions.

Looking out towards the Matanzas Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean

Sleeping quarters

the flag of the Spanish Empire (the Cross of Burgundy) flies over the Fort

Shortly after the fort was completed in 1742, the English founder of the Colony of Georgia, James Oglethorpe, approached the Matanzas Inlet with 12 ships. Cannon fire from Fort Matanzas drove off Oglethorpe's scouting boats, and the warships departed without further incident. This ended up being the only "battle" that occurred at the Fort.

The Fort was briefly a part of the British Empire in the late 1700s due to the terms of the Treaty of Paris, but was then returned to the Spanish after the American Revolution. By that time, the power of the Spanish Empire had greatly dwindled, and the Fort was abandoned.

In 1916, the U.S. Department of War began a major restoration of the ruined fort, and Fort Matanzas became a National Monument in 1924.

Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife in and around the inlet. We spied a large heron.

We were lucky and got to see some dolphins

Back at the Visitor Center, take a quick walk along the Coastal Hammock Trail.

It was very neat to learn about the history of Spanish Florida at St. Augustine and the surrounding area.

For more info on Fort Matanzas:

https://www.nps.gov/foma/index.htm

Friday, May 12, 2023

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument

Visited: Nov 2022

Nearby city: St. Augustine, FL

Castillo de San Marcos (St. Mark's Castle) is the oldest masonry fort in the country. The fort is located in the town of St. Augustine, Florida. Founded in 1565, St. Augustine is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in what is now the United States. The town was founded by the Spanish conquistador Pedro Menendez de Aviles and served as the capital of Spanish Florida for over 200 years.

St. Augustine was sacked and nearly destroyed by English privateer Robert Searle in 1668. After the raid, Governor Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega ordered that a mason fort be constructed in order to protect the city. Construction began in 1672 and was eventually completed in 1695. The fort sits on the coast where the Matanzas River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. This was a prime spot to guard against attacks by pirates.

In 1670, English colonists founded Charleston (in present-day South Carolina). Charleston was only a two day's sail from St. Augustine and conflict over land claims between the Spanish Empire and the British Empire inevitably broke out. Additionally, slaves from the Carolina Colony would escape to St. Augustine, where the Spanish authorities agreed to free (and employ) them if they converted to Catholicism. In 1702, the governor of Carolina Colony, James Moore, led an expedition in an attempt to conquer and occupy St. Augustine. Moore's army laid seige to the town for over two months, but failed to capture the fort. The fort's thick walls stood strong against the English cannon and Moore's army retreated back to Carolina. The fort again defended the town in 1740, when the founder and Governor of the Colony of Georgia, James Oglethorpe, led an unsuccessful attempt to conquer the city.

At the conclusion of the Seven Years' War and the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1763), Spain ceded Spanish Florida to Britain in exchange for Britain returning the ports of Havana (in Cuba) and Manila (in the Philippines) to Spain. The fort was under British control for approximately twenty years. But then under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1783), which ended the American Revolution, Britain returned Florida to the Spanish Empire.

The Spanish Empire and the newly-formed United States of America would quibble over the boundary between the two countries over the years. However, the gradual decline of the Spanish Empire in the early 19th century and violent revolutions in Mexico and its other colonies in Central and South America, led Spanish authorities to agree to cede Florida to the USA as terms of the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1821.

The fort (renamed by the Americans as Fort Marion) served as a military installation until 1933 - except for a brief period when the Union Army abandoned the fort early in the Civil War. In 1933, the fort was transferred to the National Park Service.

When we visited, we were lucky to observe a cannon firing demonstration. It was really cool.

Tara with a cannoneer in traditional uniform

Take a tour of the building, there are lots of exhibits to learn all about life at the fort. There's also lots of antique cannons on display.

The fortress walls were built with coquina (Spanish for "small shells"). Coquina consists of ancient shells that have bonded together to form a sedimentary rock similar to limestone. These strong walls were nearly imprenetrable against cannon attack. Instead of shattering, the walls would compress and absorb the shot. Cannonballs would either bounce off, or only sink in the walls a few inches. This unique material became known as the "rock that saved St. Augustine."

the emblem flying over the fort is the historical flag of the Spanish Empire.

Known as the "Cross of Burgundy"

the shape of the Castillo de San Marcos is a "star fort"

the city crest of St. Augustine

close up of the coquina walls. See all the shells?

The moat surrounding the fort was usually kept dry. But could be flooded with about a foot of water in case of an attack by land.

this structure is a furnace to make "heated shot"

Heating a cannonball before firing was used to set ships and buildings ablaze.

For more info: https://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm

St. Augustine is an interesting, unique town full of historical buildings. We explored the town. St. Augustine is famous for its Christmas displays.

The historic Hotel Alcazar was built by industrialist Henry Flagler in 1887. Flagler was co-founder of Standard Oil with John D. Rockefeller. Flagler also built the Florida East Coast Railway, which was instrumental in the development of Florida to the vacation and retirement destination that it is today.

Hotel Alcazar now houses the Lightner Museum.