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History of Castillo de San Marcos
The city of St Augustine Fla was founded
by the Spanish in 1565 with the arrival
Pedro Menendez de Aviles. Other colonial
settlements had tried to succeed in the
New World of Florida, but none were
successful except for the settlement in
St Augustine Fla. The early city, for
the first one hundred years, was
protected by wooden forts, nine of which
were destroyed by some form of
disaster. In 1668, the
English pirate Robert Searle attacked
the city, and it was this event that led
the Queen of Spain, Mariana to decide
that a masonry fort that could not be
destroyed should be constructed to
protect the city. In late 1672
construction began on the Castillo de
San Marcos.
 The Castillo de San Marcos was built of
coquina stone brought in from nearby
Anastasia Island, located just across
the Matanzas Bay. Coquina stone is a
beautiful type of stone that is
literally made of tiny, ancient shells
that have bonded together over time.
Workers were brought from Cuba to
construct the fort, and construction
lasted 23 years; until 1695.
It was shortly after its construction
was completed that this St Augustine
Fort saw a skirmish. In November of
1702, British forces under Governor James
Moore of the nearby British colonial
settlement of Charles Town, attacked the
city of St Augustine Fla in an attempt
to capture the settlement. Everyone in
the city sought refuge at the Castillo
de San Marcos and remained protected
behind its walls for the next two
months! In fact, the British cannons
could do nothing to destroy the coquina
rock. The Spanish arrived from Cuba,
thus trapping Moore's soldiers and
ships, and made the British withdraw from
the settlement. After this attempted
siege, the Spanish redesigned and rebuilt
many features inside the Castillo de San
Marcos, thus perfecting their already
successful St Augustine Fort, and again
in 1739 they successfully thwarted an
attempted attack by the British.
Facts about Castillo de San Marcos
The British did finally get to claim the
Castillo de San Marcos as their own, but
it was not by force or siege; it was
actually a provision of the Treaty of
Paris (1763) whereby Britain gained all
of Florida in exchange for giving lands
in Havana and Manila back to the
Spanish. During the American Revolution,
this St Augustine Fort served as a
British prison where revolutionary
fighters were kept. After the
revolution, the Spanish declared war on
Britain in 1779 and it was at the end of
this war in 1784 that the Castillo de
San Marcos was returned to the Spanish.
In 1819 Spain signed the Adams-Onis
Treaty, ceding Florida to the United
States which made the Castillo de San
Marcos St Augustine Fort a part of the
United States Military Defense System.
 After becoming a part of the United
States, Florida seceded during the Civil
War in 1861. The Castillo de San Marcos
National Monument
served several purposes during the Civil
War and changed hands twice. After the
Civil War, the Castillo de San Marcos saw
another war, the Spanish-American War,
where 200 deserters were imprisoned at
the fort. It was not until 1900 that
this St Augustine Fort was
decommissioned
and taken off active duty; in 1924 the
Castillo de San Marcos was designated a
National Monument, and in 1933 it became
a part of lands managed by the National
Park Service.
The Castillo de San Marcos National
Monument was designed
in the masonry star design and in 1975
it was recognized as a Historic Civil
Engineering Landmark by the American
Society of Civil Engineers. It is one of
the popular St Augustine Florida
Attractions, and it is very close to
another St Augustine Fort, the
Fort
Matanzas National Monument. The Castillo
de San Marcos occupies approximately 2.5
acres near downtown St Augustine Fla and
is a wonderful place to spend the day.
It is also possible to hold
Outdoor
Weddings St Augustine FL here for a
nominal fee. Interested in information
on St Augustine Weddings? Our
St
Augustine Bed and Breakfasts are great
places to hold a St Augustine Wedding,
yet should you want to get married at
the Castillo de San Marcos we can
successfully accommodate your
St
Augustine Wedding party or rehearsal
dinner party.
Interested in St Augustine
Beach Lodging?
Learn more about each
St Augustine Bed
and Breakfast. Each one is unique and
offers something special and different.
Browse information on our member
St
Augustine FL Bed and Breakfasts. Each
one of the St Augustine Inns is located
nearby to the St Augustine Florida
Attractions and fun
Things to Do in St
Augustine. Plan your
Florida Beach
Vacation and learn more about places
like the
St Augustine Lighthouse, the
Fountain of Youth Park, the
Colonial
Spanish Village, and the
Old Jail St
Augustine. Contact us today.
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