William W. Dewhurst

THE TOWN WHEN DELIVERED TO THE ENGLISH.—FORT SAN JUAN DE PINOS.—ST. AUGUSTINE AS DESCRIBED BY THE ENGLISH WRITERS 1765 TO 1775.

Before the cession of the province, the fort had been completed, and presented, at the time it was delivered to the English, very much the same appearance as now. Many of the casemates had platforms about seven feet from the floor for sleeping apartments. The moat was about four feet deeper than at present, and the water battery was built in such a manner that the guns were mounted upon it instead of behind it, as at present. The high banks of sand on the north, west, and south sides of the fort have been placed there in recent times as a protection from the shot of modern guns, which would soon make a breach through almost any thickness of coquina wall. The fortress occupies about four acres of ground, and mounts one hundred guns, requiring a garrison of a thousand soldiers, though a much larger number have, on several occasions, been its garrison. Its site was well chosen for the protection of the town in the days when it was built, as its guns command the whole harbor and inlet from the sea, as also the whole peninsula to the south, upon which the town is built, the land approach from the north, and the marshes west of the town. Various dates have been assigned as the period at which the work on this fort was commenced, but of this date there is no record in this country, if there is in Spain. At the time of Drake’s attack, 1586, there was an octagonal fort on or about the site of the present structure, which was built of logs and earth. In 1638, or thereabouts, the Apalachians were set to work on the fortifications of the town, and, as Menendez had applied himself to strengthening the defenses of the town after the attack of De Gourges, 1567, it is probable that this fort had been commenced before the beginning of the seventeenth century. That the Spaniards had then begun to use coquina as a building stone is to be inferred from a statement of Romans, that, in his time, one of the old houses of the town bore the date 1571. The name of the wooden fort was San Juan de Pinos, and the present fort bore the name St. John for many years. It is supposed that the old wooden structure stood near the north-west bastion, which was probably called St. John, while the south-east was named for St. Peter, the south-west was called St. Augustine, and the north-east St. Paul.

It is uncertain when the name St. Mark’s was first applied to the castle, though probably during the English occupation, 1663-1684. The fort, doubtless, acquired the name from that applied to the present north river, which was called by the Spaniards St. Mark’s River, at the mouth of which the fort is located. It is probably the oldest fortification now standing in the United States, and certainly the oldest which is yet in a good state of preservation. From the date at which the Apalachians began work, until the year in which the fortification was declared finished and the commemorative tablet erected, the period during which it was being built is one hundred and eighteen years. It has now been a century and a quarter since this magnificent old structure, representing the grandest military architecture of the middle ages, was completed, and two centuries and a half since its inception.

What a strange and eventful history is connected with its stone walls, its deep ditch, its frowning battlements, its dismal dungeon, and damp casemates, in the midst of which, on the north side, is its chapel with raised altar, built into the masonry, and holy water niches in the walls of the casemates.

Those who have read this history thus far will have noted the laying of its foundations by the hands of those zealous and bigoted Catholics who had exterminated a settlement of the subjects of a friendly nation, lest they should spread among the barbarous Indians heretical doctrines; the accretion of its rising walls under the hands of the unfortunate Indians, who had been loath to accept the Christian teachers and doctrine that had been forced upon them by these expungers of heresy, until, with the aid of convicts and king’s workmen, the work was completed, to stand the defense of the Spanish possessions in Florida, the protection of fugitive slaves, depredating Indians, Spanish pensioners and adventurers, and the prison of many wretched Indians and whites who had fallen under the displeasure of a Spanish autocrat. For almost two hundred years the Spanish ensign had been uninterruptedly displayed from the site of this fort, when, by the treaty of 1762, it was yielded to the British, and the cross of St. George displayed from its battlements.

The year after his arrival in Florida, Governor Hereda sculptured, in alto-relievo, the Spanish coat of arms over the entrance of the fort. The tablet upon which the design is impressed is made of cement, and let into the walls of the fort. The inscription on the tablet beneath the coat of arms is as follows:

Translation:

An alto-relievo coat of arms, upon a cement tablet, was also placed upon the lunette, but vandal relic hunters have disfigured this tablet most aggravatingly. In the top of this tablet there is an oval-shaped hollow, which looks as if it might have been worn by the handle of a spear, or small staff of a standard. It is possible that the sentry has stood upon this wall, resting his lance on the top of this tablet for years, until this hollow has been worn three inches or more in depth, and so perfectly smooth as to have a polish over the surface of the depression.

Every part of this old work should be protected and preserved by the United States, whose property it is. With proper care, and moderate repairs from time to time, this old structure will yet remain for ages a grand old relic of medieval architecture, and a monument of the first settlement of this country by our European ancestors. The sum of thirty millions of dollars is said to have been expended by the Spaniards in the construction of this fortification; a sum so vast that, when the amount was read to King Ferdinand VI., he is reported to have turned to his secretary, and exclaimed, “What! Is the fort built of solid dollars?”

“Of its legends connected with the dark chambers and prison vaults, the chains, the instruments of torture, the skeletons walled in, its closed and hidden recesses, of Coacouchee’s escape, and many another tale, there is much to say; but it is better said within the grim walls, where the eye and the imagination can go together in weaving a web of mystery and awe over its sad associations, to the music of the grating bolt, the echoing tread, and the clanking chain.”[17]

I have heard from native residents that tales of skeletons, etc., were never heard until after the late war; which assertion the above quotation from Fairbanks’ History, published in 1858, will disprove.[18]

The appearance and condition of the town at the time of the English possession has been described by several writers, whose quaintness of style adds to the inherent interest of the subject.

The English surveyor-general, De Brahm, describes the place as follows:

“At the time the Spaniards left the town, all the gardens were well stocked with fruit trees, viz.: figs, guavas, plantain, pomegranates, lemons, limes, citrons, shadock, bergamot, China and Seville oranges, the latter full of fruit throughout the whole winter season. The town is three quarters of a mile in length, but not a quarter wide; had four churches ornamentally built with stone in the Spanish taste, of which one within and one without the town exist. One is pulled down; that is the German church, but the steeple is preserved as an ornament to the town; and the other, viz., the convent-church and convent in town, is taken in the body of the barracks. All the houses are built of masonry; their entrances are shaded by piazzas, supported by Tuscan pillars or pilasters against the south sun. The houses have to the east windows projecting sixteen or eighteen inches into the street, very wide and proportionally high. On the west side, their windows are commonly very small, and no opening of any kind on the north, on which side they have double walls six or eight feet asunder, forming a kind of gallery which answers for cellars and pantries. Before most of the entrances were arbors of vines, producing plenty and very good grapes. No house has any chimney or fireplace; the Spaniards made use of stone urns, filled them with coals left in their kitchens in the afternoon, and set them at sunset in their bedrooms to defend themselves against those winter seasons which required such care. The governor’s residence has on both sides piazzas, viz., a double one on the south, and a single one to the north; also a Belvidere and a grand portico decorated with Doric pillars and entablatures. On the north end of the town is a casemated fort, with four bastions, a ravelin, counterscarp, and a glacis built with quarried shell-stones, and constructed according to the rudiments of Marechal de Vauban. This fort commands the road of the bay, the town, its environs, and both Tolomato Stream and Matanzas Creek. The soil in the gardens and environs of the town is chiefly sandy and marshy. The Spaniards seem to have had a notion of manuring their land with shells one foot deep.”

In 1770, according to De Brahm, the inhabitants of St. Augustine and vicinity numbered 288 householders exclusive of women and children, of whom 31 were storekeepers and traders; 3 haberdashers, 15 innkeepers, 45 artificers and mechanics, 110 planters, 4 hunters, 6 cow-keepers, 11 overseers, 12 draftsmen in the employ of the government, besides mathematicians; 58 had left the province, and 28 had died, of whom 4 were killed acting as constables, and two hanged for piracy.[19]

Another account says that at the time of the evacuation by the Spaniards, the town contained a garrison of 2,500 men, and a population of 3,200, who were of all colors, whites, negroes, mulattoes, Indians, etc. This estimate probably included the surrounding country as well as the town, as Romans a few years later made the number residing within the city much smaller. He says: “The town has, by all writers, till Dr. Stork’s time, been said to lay at the foot of a hill; so far from the truth is this, that it is almost surrounded by water, and the remains of the line drawn from the harbor to St. Sebastian Creek, a fourth of a mile north of the fort, in which line stands a fortified gate called the Barrier Gate, is the only rising ground near it; this line had a ditch, and its fortification was pretty regular; about a mile and a half beyond this are the remains of another fortified line, which had a kind of look-out or advanced guard of stoccadoes at its western extremity on St. Sebastian Creek, and Fort Mossa at its eastern end; besides these the town has been fortified with a slight but regular line of circumvallation and a ditch. The town is half a mile in length, and its southern line had two bastions of stone, one of which (if not both) are broken down, and the materials used for the building of the foundation of the barracks; the ditch and parapet are planted with a species of agave, which by its points is well fitted to keep out cattle.[20] Dr. Stork has raised this into a fortification against the savages, and magnified it into a chevaux de frize. The town is very ill built, the streets being all, except one, crooked and narrow. The date on one of the houses I remember to be 1571; these are of stone, mostly flat-roofed, heavy, and look badly. Till the arrival of the English, neither glass windows nor chimneys were known here, the lower windows had all a projecting frame of wooden rails before them. The governor’s house is a heavy, unsightly pile, but well contrived for the climate; at its north-west side it has a kind of tower; this serves for a look-out. There were three suburbs in the time of the Spaniards, but all destroyed before my acquaintance with the place, except the church of the Indian town to the north, now converted into an hospital. Dr. Stork says the steeple of this church is of good workmanship, though built by the Indians, neither of which assertions is true. The steeple of the German chapel to the west of the town likewise remains.[21]

“The parish church in the town is a wretched building, and now almost a heap of ruins; the parade before the governor’s house is nearly in the middle of the town, and has a very fine effect; there are two rows of orange trees planted by order of Governor Grant, which make a fine walk on each side of it; the sandy streets are hardened by lime and oyster shells. Dr. Stork says there were nine hundred houses at the time of the Spanish evacuation, and 3,200 inhabitants. In my time there were not three hundred houses, and at most a thousand inhabitants; these, a few excepted, I found to be a kind of outcast and scum of the earth; to keep them such their ill form of government does not a little contribute. A letter dated May 27th, 1774, says this town is now truly become a heap of ruins—a fit receptacle for the wretches of inhabitants.”[22]

This sweeping condemnation of the whole population of the town would seem to be exceedingly unjust and unbecoming a historian.

Major Ogilvie of the British army received the town from the Spaniards, and immediately entered upon an administration of the affairs of the province which was most unreasonable and impolitic. “Major Ogilvie, in taking possession of the eastern province, by his impolitic behavior caused all the Spaniards to remove to Havana, which was a deadly wound to the province, never to be cured again.”

So oppressive was the course of this commander, that it was said that not more than five of the Spanish inhabitants consented to remain in the province, and only by the efforts of the officer in command were the Spaniards prevented from destroying every house and building in the town. The governor did destroy his garden, which had been stocked with rare ornamental plants, trees, and flowers.

By the articles of peace the King of Great Britain guaranteed “the liberty of the Catholic religion,” but the prejudices of the Spaniards were deeply rooted, and the transfer of the territory was distasteful beyond measure. Governor James Grant was sent out from England to take charge of the province, and immediately, upon relieving Major Ogilvie, issued a proclamation dated October 7th, 1763, intended to conciliate and retain those Spaniards who had not withdrawn, and recall those who had, as well as to encourage persons in England to remove to Florida.

Governor Grant had been high in command at the capture of Havana. His administration of a country hitherto the seat of war between the aborigines, the original settlers, and their British neighbors, was not without many difficulties; but his management of affairs was generally very satisfactory, and showed much policy and executive ability. It was said of him that, hearing of any coolness between those about him, they were brought together at his table (always well provided) and reconciled before they were allowed to leave it. His conduct was not exempt from unfriendly criticism, however, and it was charged that he would not allow the transfer of Spanish landed interest to be good, although mentioned in the treaty; “that he reigned supreme without control, even in peace, notwithstanding the frequent murmurs of the people and the presentments of the grand juries, occasioned by his not calling an assembly, which they thought was a duty incumbent upon him. There was also a complaint of the contingent money, of five thousand pounds per annum for seven years, not being so very visibly expended on highways, bridges, ferries, and such other necessary things as the people would have wished.”[23]

The Spaniards attempted to illegally transfer, and, in fact, did sell the whole of their property in St. Augustine to a few British subjects for a nominal sum. It was probably this class of conveyances that Governor Grant refused to recognize. The complaint as to the building of roads, etc., must have been without foundation, as under Governor Grant were constructed all those public roads, since known as the King’s Roads, running from New Smyrna to St. Augustine, and thence to Jacksonville and the St. Mary’s River. These roads were all turnpiked upon the line of surveyed routes, and are to-day the best roads in the State.

Under Governor Grant the British built at St. Augustine very extensive barracks, which were soon afterward burned. Romans thus criticises the policy of the governor in expending so large sums on military works: “The bar of this harbor is a perpetual obstruction to St. Augustine becoming a place of any great trade, and alone is security enough against enemies; so that I see but little occasion for so much fortification as the Spaniards had here, especially as a little look-out called Mossa, at a small distance north of the town, proved sufficient to repel General Oglethorpe with the most formidable armament ever intended against St. Augustine. However, there was much more propriety in the Spaniards having a fort in the modern taste of military architecture—of a regular quadrilateral form, with four bastions, a wide ditch, a covered way, a glacis, a ravelin to defend the gate, places of arms and bomb-proofs, with a casemating all round, etc., etc., for a defense against savages—than there was in raising such a stupendous pile of buildings as the new barracks by the English, which are large enough to contain five regiments, when it is a matter of grave doubt whether it will ever be a necessity to keep one whole regiment here. To mend this matter, the great barrack was built with materials brought to St. Augustine from New York, far inferior in value to those found on the spot, yet the freight alone amounted to more than their value when landed, so that people can hardly help thinking that the contrivers of all this, having a sum of money to throw away, found it necessary to fill some parasite’s pockets. This fort and barrack, however, add not a little to the beauty of the prospect,” as one approaches the town from the water.

When the old light-house was built I have been unable to discover. Under Governor Grant it was raised by a timber construction, and had a cannon planted on it, which was fired as soon as the flag was hoisted to notify the inhabitants and pilots that a vessel was approaching. It had two flagstaffs, one to the north and one to the south, on either of which the flag was hoisted as the vessel was approaching from the north or south.

It is possible that the old light-house was constructed in 1693, with the proceeds of the six thousand dollars appropriated by the Council of the Indies, for “building a tower as a look-out.” The Spaniards kept a detachment of troops stationed there, and the tower and adjoining chapel were inclosed with a high and thick stone wall, pierced with loop-holes, and having a salient angle to protect the gate. Romans describes it, in his time, as follows: “About half a mile from the north end of the island [Anastatia] is a heavy stone building serving for a look-out. A small detachment of troops is kept here, and by signals from hence the inhabitants are given to understand what kind of, and how many vessels are approaching the harbor, either from the north or from the south. In the year 1770, fifty feet of timber framework were added to its former height, as was likewise a mast or flagstaff forty-seven feet long; but this last, proving too weighty, endangered the building, and was soon taken down.”[24] This old structure was repaired and a house for the light-keeper built in 1823, by Elias Wallen, a contractor, who was also employed upon the repairs made to the old “Governor’s House.”

The coquina ledge upon which it was built has of late years been rapidly washing away by the action of the tides, and dashing of the waves, which during the annual north-east storms are sometimes of considerable force. A storm washed away the foundations of the tower, and it fell with a crash on Sunday, the 20th of June, 1880. Thus has gone forever one of St. Augustine’s most interesting old landmarks.[25]

The English built a bridge across the St. Sebastian River upon the old road leading over the marshes, which approached the town near the saw-mills. From some defect in construction, this bridge did not remain long. They then established a ferry, and appointed a ferry-keeper with a salary of fifty pounds sterling per annum. The inhabitants paid nothing for crossing except after dark.