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Gc 975.902 Sallfai 1735314
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02309 8566 r
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Geo. R. Fairbanks.
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/historyantiquiti00fair_0
HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES
OF
ST. AUGUSTINE
FLORIDA.
FOUNDED SEPTEMBER 8. 1565.
BY GEORGE R. FAIRBANKS, M. A.
THIRD EDITION. .
HORACE DREW. JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA. 1881.
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1735314
RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED TO BUCKINGHAM SMITH, ESQ., U. S. SECRETARY OF LEGATION AT MADRID,
TO WHOSE EFFORTS
IN THE DISCOVERY AND PRESERVATION OF THE HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF THE SPANISH DOMINION IN AMERICA,
A GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT IS DUE FROM
AMERICAN SCHOLARS.
PREFACE.
This volume, relating to the history and antiquities of the oldest settlement in the United States, has grown out of a lec- ture delivered by the author, and which he was desired to embody in a more permanent form.
The large amount of interesting material in my posses- sion has made my work rather one of laborious condensation than expansion.
I have .endeavored to preserve as fully as possible the style and quaintness of the old writers from whom I have drawn, rather than to transform or embellish the narrative with the supposed graces of modern diction; and, as much of the work consisted in translations from foreign idioms, this peculiarly un-English style, if I may so call it, will be more noticeably observed. I have mainly sought to give it a per- manent value, as founded on the most reliable ancient author- ities, and thus, to the extent of the ground which it covers, to make it a valuable addition to the history of our country.
In that portion of the work devoted to the destruction of the Huguenot colony and the forces of Ribault, I have in the main followed the Spanish accounts, desiring to divest the narrative of all suspicion of prejudice or unfairness; Barcia, the principal authority, as is well known, professing the same faith as Menendez. and studiously endeavoring, throughout his work, to exalt the character of the Adelantado.
I am under great obligations to my friend, BUCKINGHAM SMITH, Esq., for repeated favors in the course of its preparation.
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
The first edition of this work was published in 1858, the author having then been a resident of St. Augustine for many years. The city was then in its great lethargy -a peaceful, quaint and pleasant city by the sea, its life varying day by day but little more than the ebbing and flowing tides which washed its shores, or the mild seasons which imperceptibly glided into each other.
The terrible civil war which so long convulsed our whole country scarcely disturbed the surface life of the old city, how- ever much the hearts of its people went forth in warm sym- pathy for their sons on distant battlefields, who had gone out in their youth and brightness-alas! so few to return. Their roster is inscribed on that memorial shaft which has been erected on the plaza to their memory by loving mothers, sisters and friends-perhaps the only visible object within its walls to recall that fierce and bloody struggle.
The first edition having gone out of print, a second edi- tion of the work was called for and published in 1868, a period which, so far as St. Augustine was concerned, may be regarded as the beginning of that renewed prosperity which has contin- ued from year to year, and given to it a new life and hopeful prospects of enlarged future growth and importance.
The edition of 1868 has now also been out of print for some time, and the author has been induced to issue a third edition, brought up to the present time.
The St. Augustine of to-day, while its location, its natural features, its climate and its general appearance is the same old city, yet in its new life evinces the healthy growth of fertilizing influences; the decay of the past is being replaced by the re- storative hands of a new generation-not always, it is true. regardful of the relics of the past, but nevertheless giving strength and beauty to the always ancient and always inter- esting old Spanish city of SAN AGUSTIN DE FLORIDA.
Fernandina, Flu., September 8. 1881.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Introductory
1
CHAPTER II.
First Discovery, 1512 to 1565-Juan Ponce de Leon ..
3
CHAPTER III.
Ribault, Laudonniere, and Menendez-Settlements of the Huguenots, and Foundation of St. Augustine .- 1562-1565-1568. ..
5
CHAPTER IV.
The Attack on Fort Caroline .- 1565
12
CHAPTER V.
Escape of Laudonniere and others from Fort Caroline-Adventures of the Fugitives. .. .. . . 17
CHAPTER VI.
Site of Fort Caroline. afterwards called San Matteo ........ 21
CHAPTER VII.
Menendez's Return to St. Augustine -- Shipwreck of Ribault-Massacre of Part of his Command .- A. D. 1565 31
CHAPTER VIII.
Fate of Ribault and his Followers-Bloody Massacre at Matanzas, 1565 39
CHAPTER IX.
Fortifying of St. Augustine-Disaffections and Mutinies-Approval of Menendez's acts by King of Spain .- 1565-1568. 46
CHAPTER X.
The Notable Revenge of Dominic de Gourgues-Return of Menendez- Indian Mission .- 1568
viii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XI. PAGE.
Sir Francis Drake's Attack upon St. Augustine-Establishment of Mis- sions-Massacre of Missionaries at St. Augustine .- 1586-1688. .. .. 38
CHAPTER XII.
Subjection of the Apalachian Indians-Construction of the Fort, Sea Wall, etc .- 1638-1700 ..
64
CHAPTER XIII.
Attack on St. Augustine by Governor Moore, of South Carolina-Diffi- culties with the Georgians .- 1702-1732 70
CHAPTER XIV.
Siege of St. Augustine by Oglethorpe-1732-1740 75
CHAPTER XV.
Completion of the Castle-Descriptions of St. Augustine a Century ago-English Occupation of Florida .- 1755-1763-1783. ........ 83
CHAPTER XVI.
Recession of Florida to Spain-Erection of the Parish Church-Change of Flags .- 1783-1821
93
CHAPTER XVII.
Transfer of Florida to the United States-American Occupation-An- cient Buildings, etc.
99
CHAPTER XVIII.
Present Appearance of St. Augustine, as given by the Author of Than- atopsis-Its Climate and Salubrity 103
CHAPTER XIX.
St. Augustine in its Old Age .- 1565-1868 110
CHAPTER XX. .
A. D. 1868 to 1881. 114 ...
THE HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF
ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
The Saint Augustine of the present and the St. Augustine of the past, are in striking contrast.
We see, to-day, a town less in population than hundreds of places of but few months' existence, age-worn in its appearance, with the stillness of a great calm hanging over it, its waters undis- turbed except by the passing canoe of the fisherman, its streets unenlivened by busy traffic, and at mid-day it might be supposed to have sunk under the enchanter's wand into an almost eternal sleep.
With little participation in the active schemes of life, or ex- alted hopes for the future; with no emulation, and no feverish visions of greatness; with few corner lots on sale or in demand : with no stocks, save those devoted to disturbers of the public peace; with no excitements and no events; a quiet, undisturbed,. dreamy vision of still life surrounds its walls, and creates a sen -- sation of entire repose, pleasant or otherwise, as it falls upon the heart of the weary wanderer sick of life's busy bustle, or upon the restless mind of him who looks to nothing as life except per- petual, unceasing action-the one rejoicing in its rest, the other chafing under its monotony .* And yet, about the old city there
# Written before the war; within a few years it has assum al new life and energy .- G. R. F.
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THE HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES
clings a host of historic associations, that throw around it a charm which few can fail to feel.
Its life is in its past; and when we recall the fact that it was the first permanent settlement of the white man, by more than forty years, in this confederacy; that here for the first time, iso- iated within the shadows of the primeval forest, the civilization of the Old World made its abiding place, where all was new, and wild, and strange; that this now so insignificant place was the key of an empire; that upon its fate rested the destiny of a na- tion; that its occupation or retention decided the fate of a peo- ple; that it was itself a vice-provincial court, boasted of its Ade- lantados, men of the first mark and note, of its Royal Exchequer, its public functionaries, its brave men at arms; that its proud name, conferred by its monarch, "Le siempre fiel Ciudad de San Augustin."-The ever faithful City of St. Augustine-stood out upon the face of history; that here the cross was first planted; that from the papal throne itself rescripts were addressed to its governors; that the first great efforts at Christianizing the fierce tribes of America proceeded from this spot; that the martyr's blood was first here shed; that within these quiet walls the din of arms. the noise of battle, and the fierce cry of assaulting col- umns, have been heard; who will not then feel that we stand on historic ground, and that an interest attaches to the annals of this ancient city far more than is possessed by mere brick and mortar, rapid growth, or unwonted prosperity? Moss-grown and shattered, it appeals to our instinctive feelings of reverence for antiquity; and we feel desirous to know the history of its earlier days.
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OF ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA.
CHAPTER II.
FIRST DISCOVERY, 1512 TO 1565-JUAN PONCE DE LEON.
·
Among the sturdy adventurers of the sixteenth century who sought both fame and fortune in the path of discovery, was Ponce de Leon, a companion of Columbus on his second voyage, a vet- eran and bold mariner, who, after a long and adventurous life, feeling the infirmities of age and the shadows of the decline of life hanging over him, willingly credited the tale that in this, the beautiful land of his imagination, there existed a fountain whose waters could restore youth to palsied age, and beauty to efface the marks of time.
The story ran that far to the north there existed a land abounding in gold and all manner of desirable things, but, above all, possessing a river and springs of so remarkable a virtue that their waters would confer immortal youth on whoever bathed in them ; that upon a time a considerable expedition of the Indians. of Cuba had departed northward in search of this beautiful coun- try and these waters of immortality, who had never returned, and who, it was supposed, were in a renovated state, still enjoy- ing the felicities of the happy land.
Furthermore, Peter Martyr affirms, in his second decade, addressed to the Pope, "that among the islands on the north side of Hispaniola, there is one about three hundred and twenty-five leagues distant. as they say which have searched the same, in the which is a continual spring of running water, of such marvelous virtue that the water thereof being drunk, perhaps with some diet. maketh old men young again. And here I must make pro- testation to your Holiness not to think this to be said lightly, or rashly; for they have so spread this rumor for a truth through- out all the court, that not only all the people, but also many of them whom wisdom or fortune have divided from the common
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sort think it to be true."* Thoroughly believing in the verify- of this pleasant account, this valiant cavalier fitted out an expe- dition from Porto Rico, and in the progress of his search carzx upon the coast of Florida, on Easter Monday, 1512, supposing; then, and for a long period afterwards, that it was an island Partly in consequence of the bright spring verdure and flowers plains that met his eye, and the magnificence of the magnoli ... the bay and the laurel, and partly in honor of the day, Pascoz Florida, or Palm Sunday, and reminded, probably of its appes- priateness by the profusion of the cabbage palms near the point. of his landing, he gave to the country the name of Florida ..
On the 3d of April, 1512, three hundred and fifty-five years: ago, he landed a few miles north of St. Augustine and took possession of the country for the Spanish Throne. He found the natives fierce and implacable; and after exploring the coca- try for some distance around, and trying the virtue of all three streams, and growing neither younger nor handsomer, he left: the country without making a permanent settlement.
The subsequent explorations of Narvaez, in 1526, and of Di Soto, in 1539, were made in another portion of our State, and co not bear immediately upon the subject of our investigation, az- though forming a most interesting portion of our general history -.
# The Fountain of Youth is a very ancient fable; and the reader will Tue reminded of the amusing story of the accomplishment of this miracle, to.kr. in Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales, and of the marvelous effects producerz by imbibing this celebrated spring water.
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CHAPTER III.
RIBAULT, LAUDONNIERE, AND MENENDEZ-SETTLEMENT OF THE HUGUENOTS, AND FOUNDATION OF ST. AUGUSTINE-1562-1565-1568.
The settlement of Florida had its origin in the religious Imubles experienced by the Huguenots under Charles IX in France.
Their distinguished leader, Admiral Coligny, as early as, 1555, projected colonies in America, and sent an expedition to Brazil, which proved unsuccessful. Having procured permission from Charles IX to found a colony in Florida-a designation TSich embraced in rather an indefinite manner the whole coun- try from the Chesapeake to the Tortugas-he sent an expedition In 3562 from France, under command of Jean Ribault, composed of many young men of good family. They first landed at the St Johns river, where they erected a monument, but finally es- Eablished a settlement at Port Royal, South Carolina, and erected a @rt. After some months, however, in consequence of dissen- sizes among the officers of the garrison, and difficulties with the Indians, this settlement was abandoned.
In 1564 another expedition came out under the command of Erne de Laudonniere, and made their first landing at the River «xf Dolphins, being the present harbor of St. Augustine, and so uszmed by them in consequence of the great number of dolphins {porpoises) seen by them at its mouth. They afterwards coasted to the north, and entered the River St. Johns, called by them the River May.
Upon an examination of this river, Laudonniere concluded Sy establish his colony on its banks; and proceeding about two Tezgnes above its mouth, built a fort upon a pleasant hill of -"mean height," which, in honor of his sovereign; he named Fort Faroline.
The colonists, after a few months, were reduced to great dis-
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THE HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES 1
tress, and were about taking measures to abandon the country a second time, when Ribault arrived with reinforcements.
It is supposed that intelligence of these expeditions was com- municated by the enemies of Coligny to the court of Spain.
Jealousy of the aggrandizement of the French in the New World, mortification for their own unsuccessful efforts in that quarter, and a still stronger motive of hatred to the faith of the Huguenot, induced the bigoted Philip II, of Spain, to dispatch · Pedro Menendez de Aviles, a brave, bigoted and remorseless soldier, to drive out the French colony, and take possession of the country for himself.
1
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The compact made between the King and Menendez was, that he should furnish one galleon completely equipped, and pro- visions for a force of six hundred men ; that he should conquer and settle the country. He obligated himself to carry one hun- dred horses, two hundred horned cattle, four hundred hogs, four hundred sheep and some goats, and five hundred slaves, (for which he had a permission free of duties), the third part of which should be men, for his own service and that of those who went with him, to aid in cultivating the land and building. That he should take twelve priests and four fathers of the Jesuit order. He was to build two or three towns of one hundred fam- ilies, and in each town should build a fort according to the nature of the country. He was to have the title of Adelantado of the country, as also to be entitled a Marquis, and his heirs after him, to have a tract of land, receive a salary of 2,000 ducats, a per- centage of the royal duties, and have the freedom of all the other ports of New Spain .*
-
His force consisted, at starting, of eleven sail of vessels, with two thousand and six hundred men; but, owing to storms and accidents not more than one-half arrived. He came upon the coast on the 28th of August, 1565, shortly after the arrival of the fleet of Ribault. On the 7th day of September, Menendez cast anchor in the River of Dolphins, the harbor of St. Augustine. He had previously discovered and given chase to some of the vessels of Ribault, off the mouth of the River May. The Indian
# Barcia Ensayo, Cron. 66.
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OF ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA.
village of Selooe then stood upon the site of St. Augustine, and the landing of Menendez was upon the spot where the city of St. Augustine now stands.
Fray Francisco Lopez de Mendoza, the chaplain of the ex- pedition, thus chronicles the disembarkation and attendant cere- monies:
"On Saturday, the 8th day of September, the day of the nativity of our Lady, the General disembarked, with numerous banners displayed, trumpets and other martial music resounding, and amid salvos of artillery.
"Carrying a cross, I proceeded at the head, chanting the hymn Te Deum Laudamus. The General marched straight up to the cross, together with all those who accompanied him; and, kneeling, they all kissed the cross. A great number of Indians looked upon these ceremonies, and imitated whatever they saw done. Thereupon the General took possession of the country in the name of His Majesty. All the officers then took an oath of allegiance to him, as their General, and as Adelantado of the whole country."
The name of St. Augustine was given, in the usual manner of the early voyagers, because they had arrived upon the coast on the day dedicated in their calendar to that eminent saint of the primitive church, revered alike by the good of all ages for his learning and piety.
The first troops who landed, says Mendoza, were well re- ceived by the Indians, who gave them a large mansion belong- ing to the chief, situated near the banks of the river. The engineer officers immediately erected an entrenchment of earth, and a ditch around this house, with a slope made of earth and fascines, these being the only means of defence which the coun- try presents; for, says the father with surprise, "there is not a stone to be found in the whole country." They landed eighty cannon from the ships, of which the lightest weighed two thou- sand five hundred pounds.
But in the meantime Menendez had by no means forgotten the errand upon which he principally came; and by inquiries of the Indians, he soon learned the position of the French fort and the condition of its defenders. Impelled by necessity, Laudon- niere had been forced to seize from the Indians food to supply his famished garrison, and had thus incurred their enmity, which was soon to produce its sad results.
The Spaniards numbered about six hundred combatants, and
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THE HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES
the French about the same; but arrangements had been made for further accessions to the Spanish force, to be drawn from St. Domingo and Havana, and these were daily expected.
It was the habit of those days to devolve almost every event upon the ordering of a special providence; and each nation had come to look upon itself almost in the light of a peculiar people, led, like the Israelites of old, by signs and wonders; and as in their own view all their actions were directed by the design of advancing God's glory as well as their own purposes, so the blessing of Heaven would surely accompany them in all their undertakings.
So believed the Crusaders on the plains of Palestine; so be- lieved the conquerors of Mexico and Peru; so believed the Puri- tan settlers of New England (alike in their Indian wars and their oppressive social polity); and so believed, also, the follow- ers of Menendez and of Ribault; and in this simple and trusting faith. the worthy chaplain gives us the following account of the miraculous escape and deliverance of a portion of the Spanish fleet :
"God and his Holy Mother have performed another great miracle in our favor. The day following the landing of the General in the fort, he said to us that he was very uneasy because his galley and another vessel were at anchor, isolated and a league at sea, being unable to enter the port on account of the shallowness of the water; and that he feared that the French might come and capture or maltreat them. As soon as this idea came to him he departed, with fifty men, to go on board of his galleon. He gave orders to three shallops which were moored in the river to go out and take on board the provisions and troops which were on board the gal- leon. The next day, a shallop having gone out thither, they took on board as much of the provisions as they could, and more than a hundred men who were in the vessel, and returned towards the shore; but half a league before arriving at the bar they were overtaken by so complete a calm that they were nnable to proceed further, and thereup m cast anchor and passed the night in that place. The day following at break of day they raised anchor as ordered by the pilot, as the rising of the tide began to be felt. When it was fully light they saw astern of them, at the poop of the vessel, two French ships which during the night had been in search of them. The enemy arrived with the intention of making an attack upon us. The French made all haste in their movements, for we had to arms on board and had only embarked the provisions. When dav ap- peared and our people discovere I the French, they addressed their prayers to our Lady of Bon Secours d' Utrera, and supplicated her to grant them a little wind, for the French were already close up to them. They say that
/
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"Our Lady descended, herself, upon the vessel ; for the wind freshened and blew fair for the bar, so that the shallop could enter it. The French fol- lowed it; but as the bar has but little depth and their vessels were large, they were not able to go over it, so that our men and the provisions made a safe harbor. When it became still clearer, they perceived, besides the two vessels of the enemy, four others at a distance, being the same which we had seen in port the evening of. our arrival. They were well furnished with both troops and artillery, and had directed themselves for our gallcon and the other ship, which were alone at sea. In this circumstance God accorded us two favors. The first was, that the same evening, after they had discharged the provisions and the troops I have spoken of, at mid- night the galleon and other vessel put to sea without being perceived by the enemy-the one for Spain, and the other for Havana, for the purpose of seeking the fleet which was there; and in this way neither was taken.
"The second favor, by which God rendered us a still greater service, was, that on the day following the one I have described there arose a storm, and so great a tempest that certainly the greater part of the French vessels must have been lost at sea; for they were overtaken upon the most dan- gerous coast I have ever seen, and were very close to the shore; and if our vessels, that is, the galleon and its consort, are not shipwrecked, it is be- cause they were already more than twelve leagues off the coast, which gave them the facility of running before the wind, and mancouvering as well as they could, relying upon the aid of God to preserve them."
Menendez had ascertained from the Indians that a large number of the French troops had embarked on board of the ves- sels which he had seen off the harbor, and he had good ground for believing that these vessels would either be cast helpless upon the shore, or be driven off by the tempest to such a dis- · tance as would render their return for some days impossible. He at once conceived the project of attacking the French fort upon the river May, by land.
A council of war was held, and after some discussion, for the most part adverse to the plan proposed by him, Menendez spoke as follows :
"Gentlemen and Brothers! We have before us now an opportunity which if improved by us will have a happy result. I am satisfied that the
# The galleon spoken of was Menendez's own flag ship, the El Pelayo, the largest vessel in his feet. fitted out at his own expense, and which had brought four hundred men. He had put on board of her a lieutenant and som . soldiers, besides fifteen Untherans as prisoners, whom he was sending home to the Inquisition at Seville. The orders to his officers were to go as speedily as possible to the island of Hispaniola, to bring provisions and additional forces. Upon the passage, the Lutheran prisoners, with some Levantine sailors, rose upon the Spaniards, killed the commander, and car- ried the vessel into Denmark. Menendez was much chagrined when he ascertained the fate of his favorite galleon, a long period afterwards.
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