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Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about Castillo de San Marcos National Monument

The Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida, is the oldest stone fort in the continental United States.

Originally constructed by the Spanish in the late 17th century, the stone Castillo de San Marcos replaced a previous wooden fortification.

The need for a stone fort became apparent after the English buccaneer Robert Searle burnt most of the settlement in 1668.

Therefore, the construction of a new stone fort happened between 1672 and 1695.

As one of the greatest fortifications in the world, Castillo de San Marcos is an engineering marvel.

The fort walls lacked vulnerable spots making it nearly impenetrable.

The fort protected  St. Augustine from attack by sea 

Here are 10 unbelievable facts about Castillo de San Marcos.

1.  The Castillo is the Oldest Stone-Wall Fort in Mainland US

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 The walls are 20-feet high, 14-feet thick at the base, 6 feet thick at the top, and surrounded by a moat on three sides with water depths ranging from 10 to 18 feet deep.

The walls of the fort were painted in  Spanish flag colours.

Pine trees covered the moat making it difficult for an enemy to get close enough to fire arrows at the fort.

The structure of the fort consisted of four bastions named San Pedro, San Agust铆n, San Carlos, and San Pablo with a ravelin called San Juan.

The east side of the fort has three tiers with gates built into the first tier and also accessible from the carriageway or drawbridge.

2. Castillo De San Marcos Served as a Prison for Native Americans

Approximately 491 Apaches were held prisoner at Fort Marion from 1886-1887. Many were of the Chiricahua and Warm Springs Apache bands from Arizona.

There were 82 men and the rest were women and children. Among the men, 14, including Chatto, had previously been paid scouts for the US Army.

Among the Chiricahua were members of the notable chief Geronimo’s band, including his wife. Geronimo was sent to Fort Pickens, in violation of his agreed terms of surrender.

While at the fort, many of the prisoners had to camp in tents, as there was not sufficient space for them. 

Another famous Seminole Native American housed here was Chief Osceola.

3. Castillo de San Marcos was Invincible to British Siege

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The British laid siege to St. Augustine and the Castillo de San Marcos in 1702. Throughout the two-month siege, 1200 Spaniards and 300 soldiers stayed put within the fort.

The Castillo鈥檚 soft coquina walls absorbed cannonballs without damaging them according to them the confidence and safety to ride out the siege.

The coquina stone for the walls came from Anastasia Island across the bay in 1672. 

They ultimately claimed victory when the British were unable to take the fort.

4. The Castillo was Named, Renamed then Reverted

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When the Spaniards built it in the mid to late 17^th Century they christened it Castillo de San Marcos.

After Britain gained control of Florida in 1763 pursuant to the Treaty of Paris, St. Augustine became the capital of British East Florida, and the fort was renamed Fort St. Mark until the Peace of Paris (1783) when Florida was transferred back to Spain.

In 1819 Spain signed the Adams鈥揙n铆s Treaty which ceded Florida to the United States in 1821; as soon as the United States gained control of the Castillo de San Marcos was renamed Fort Marion in honour of American Revolutionary War hero, General Francis Marion (the 鈥淪wamp Fox鈥�).

The 20.48-acre (8.29 ha) site was then turned over to the United States National Park Service. In 1942 the original name Castillo de San Marcos..

5.  The Castillo Shipped in the First Slaves in the US not Jamestown

European settlement of what would become the United States began Sept. 8, 1565, when Spanish AAdm. Pedro Menendez de Avil茅s founded St. Augustine on the northeast Florida coast. 

He arrived with ships filled with soldiers, wives, children and Africans, who were mostly slaves.

Records show Spain鈥檚 King Philip II contracted with the admiral to take 500 slaves to establish sugar plantations in the new colony. 

Additional records show there were 56 slaves in St. Augustine by 1602.

The Spaniards settled in St. Augustine, Florida, with enslaved blacks more than a half-century before any arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619 aboard a ship captured by English pirates. 

They built military forts, hunted food, cut wood and later even created a settlement for freed blacks, Fort Mose. 

In 1693, Spain’s King Charles II issued a proclamation freeing slaves who escaped to St. Augustine if they joined the militia or converted to Catholicism.

Eventually, the city became a safe haven for enslaved people fleeing their British owners in South Carolina and Georgia. 

6. Need a Fort? Receipt Please

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In January 1861, Florida seceded from the United States in the opening months of the American Civil War.

Union troops had withdrawn from the fort, leaving only one man behind as caretaker. In January 1861, Confederate troops marched on the fort.

The Union soldier manning the fort refused to surrender it unless he was given a receipt for it from the Confederacy.

The Confederacy soldiers issued him a receipt and released him without firing a shot.

7. From Castillo de San Marcos, Originated American Indian Boarding Schools

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Fort Marion (The Castillo) became the basis for his campaign to create American Indian boarding schools.

These schools were for the purpose of educating native people.

However,  native children were prohibited from speaking their languages or practising their own religion.

Many have accused American Indian boarding schools of countless abuses and violations of child labour laws, in addition to accusations of cultural genocide.

The campaign began with the creation of the Carlisle Barracks, which was the first of over 450 American Indian boarding schools

8. The Castillo is an American National Monument

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In 1924, the fort was designated a National Monument. In 1933 it was transferred to the National Park Service from the War Department.

Congress authorized renaming the fort as Castillo de San Marcos in honour of its Spanish heritage.

The National Park Service manages the Castillo together with Fort Matanzas National Monument.

The American Society of Civil Engineers declared the Castillo a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1975.

The Castillo is a popular tourist attraction. It occupies 2.5 acres (10,100 m虏) in downtown St. Augustine, Florida.

9. Castillo de San Marcos Game of Musical Chairs

Possession of the fort has changed six times, all peaceful, amongst four different governments: the Spanish Empire, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Confederate States of America and the United States of America (Spain and the United States having possession two times each).

10. Castillo de San Marcos is Proof that  Florida was Part of Spain

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Spanish engineer Ignacio Daza designed the fort.

Construction began in 1672, 107 years after the city’s founding by Spanish Admiral and conquistador Pedro Men茅ndez de Avil茅s, when Florida was part of the Spanish Empire.

 Governor Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega ordered the fort’s construction after the destructive raid of the English privateer Robert Searles in 1668.

Manuel de Cendoya, Guerra’s successor laid the first stone in 1672.

A visit to Castillo de San Marcos National Monument consists of five activities: tour the fort; visit the museum rooms; listen to a Ranger talk about the fort; watch the park film, and walk the grounds outside of the fort.

You are free to explore all areas of the fort except for the rangers’ rooms.

The Castillo de San Marcos still stands today as both a tribute to those who came before and a symbol for opportunity, growth and progress.