USA > Florida > Saint Johns County > Saint Augustine > History and antiquities of St. Augustine, Florida > Part 7
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It is evident that the fort, or castle as it was usually desig- nated, had been then commenced, although its form was after- wards changed ; and for sixty years subsequently, these unfortu- nate Apalachian Indians were compelled to labor upon the works, until 1680, upon the recommendation of their mission fathers. they were relieved from further compulsory labor, with the un-
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derstanding that in case of necessity they would resume their labors.
In 1648, St. Augustine is described to have contained more than three hundred householders (vecinos), a flourishing monas- tery of the order of St. Francis with fifty Franciscans, men very zealous for the conversion of the Indians, and regarded by their countrymen with the highest veneration. Besides these there were in the city alone, a vicar, a parochial curate, a superior sacristan, and a chaplain attached to the castle. The parish church was built of wood, the Bishop of Cuba, it is said, not be- ing able to afford anything better, his whole income being but four hundred pezos per annum, which he shared with Florida ; and sometimes he expended much more than his receipts.
In 1665, Captain Davis, one of the English buccaneers and freebooters (then very numerous in the West Indies), with a fleet of seven or eight vessels came on the coast from Jamaica, to in- tercept the Spanish plate fleet on its return from New Spain to Europe; but being disappointed in this scheme, he proceeded along the coast of Florida, and came off St. Augustine, where he landed and marched directly upon the town, which he sacked and plundered, without meeting the least opposition or resistance from the Spaniards, although they had then a garrison of two hundred men in the fort, which at that time was an octagon, fortified and defended by round towers.
The fortifications, if this account be true, were probably then very incomplete; and with a vastly inferior force it is not surprising that they did not undertake what could only have been an ineffectual resistance. It does not appear that the fort was taken ; and the inhabitants retired probably within its enclosure with their valuables .*
In the Spanish account of the various occurrences in this country, it is mentioned that in 1681, "the English having exam- ined a province of Florida, distant twelve leagues from another called New Castle, where the air is pleasant, the climate mild, and the lands very fertile, called it Salvania : and that knowing these advantages, a Quaker, or Shaker (a sect barbarous, impu-
* I do not find any account of this expedition and capture of St. Au- gustine in the Ensayo Cronologica.
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dent and abominable,) called William Penn, obtained a grant of it from Charles II:, King of England, and made great efforts to colonize it." Such was the extent then claimed for the province of Florida, and such the opinion entertained of the Quakers.
In 1681, Don Juan Marquez Cabrera, applied himself at once, upon his appointment to the governorship of Florida, to finish the castle ; and collected large quantities of stone, lime, timber, and iron, more than sufficient subsequently to complete it. About this period a new impulse was given to the extension of the mission for converting the Indians; and large reinforce- ments of the clerical force were received from Mexico, Havana, and Spain; and many of them received salaries from the crown. A considerable Indian town is spoken of at this period, as exist- ing six hundred varas north of St. Augustine, and called Maca- rasi, which would correspond to the place formerly occupied by Judge Douglas, deceased, and which has long been called Maca- riz. Other parts of the country were known by various names. Amelia Island was the province of Guale. The southern part of the country was known as the province of Carlos. Indian river was the province of Ys. Westwardly was the province of Apalachie ; while smaller divisions were designated by the names of the chiefs.
It is hardly to be doubted, that the same spirit of oppression towards the Indians, exercised in the other colonies under Span- ish dominition, existed in Florida. It has been already men- tioned that the Apalachians were kept at hard labor upon the fortifications of St. Augustine; and in 1680, the Yemasees, who had always been particularly peaceful and manageable, and whose principal town was Macarisqui, near St. Augustine, re- volted at the rule exercised over them by the Spanish authorities at St. Augustine, in consequence of the execution of one of their chiefs by the order of the governor; and six years afterwards they male a general attack upon the Spaniards, drove them within the walls of the castle, and became such mortal enemies to them, that they never gave a Spaniard quarter, wavlaying, and invariably massacreing any stragglers they could intercept out- side of the fort.
In 1670, an English settlement was established near Port Royal, South Carolina. one hundred and five years subsequent to
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the settlement of St. Augustine. The Spaniards regarded it as an infringement upon their rights ; and although a treaty, after this settlement, had been made between Spain and England, con- firming to the latter all her settlements and islands, yet as no boundaries or limits were mentioned, their respective rights and boundaries remained a subject of dispute for seventy years.
About 1675, the Spanish authorities at St. Augustine, having intelligence from white servants who fled to them, of the discon- tented and miserable situation of the colony in Carolina, ad- vanced with a party under arms as far as the Island of St. Helena, to dislodge or destroy the settlers. A treacherous colonist of the name of Fitzpatrick, deserted to the Spaniards; but the gover- nor, Sir John Yeamans, having received a reinforcement, held his ground; and a detachment of fifty volunteers under Colonel God- frey, marched against the enemy, forcing them to retire from the Island of St. Helena, and retreat to St. Augustine .*
Ten years afterwards, three galleys sailed from St. Augus- tine, and attacked a Scotch and English settlement at Port Royal. which had been founded by Lord Cardross, in 1681. The settle- ment was weak and unprotected, and the Spaniards fell upon. them, killed several, whipped many, plundered all, and broke up the colony. Flushed with success, they continued their dep- redations on Edisto River, burning the houses, wasting the plan- tations, and robbing the settlers ; and finished their marauding expedition by capturing the brother of Governor Morton, and burning him alive in one of the galleys which a hurricane had driven so high upon land as to make it impossible to have it re- launched. Such at least is the English account of the matter ; and they say that intestine troubles alone prevented immediate and signal retaliation by the South Carolinians.t
One Captain, Don Juan de Aila, went to Spain in the year 1687, in his own vessel, to procure additional forces and ammu- nition for the garrison at St. Augustine. He received the men and munitions desired ; and, as a reward for his diligence and patriotism, he also received the privilege of carrying merchan- dise, duty free ; being also allowed to take twelve Spanish ne-
# Carroll's S. C., Vol. 1. p. 62.
+ Rivers' S. C. Hist. Coll. p. 143. Do. Appendix, 425. Carroll's Coll., 2d vol., 350.
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groes for the cultivation of the fields of Florida, of whom it is said there was a great want in that province. By a mischance, he was only able to carry one negro there, with the troops and other cargo, and was received in the city with universal joy. This was the first occasion of the reception of African slaves ; although as has been heretofore mentioned, it was made a part of the royal stipulation with Menendez, that he should bring over five hundred negro slaves.
Don Diego de Quiroga y Losada, the governor of Florida in 1690, finding that the sea was making dangerous encroachments upon the shores of the town, and had reached even the houses, threatening to swallow them up, and render useless the fort which had cost so much to put in the state of completion in which it then was, called a public meeting of the chief men and citizens of the place, and proposed to them that in order to escape the danger which menaced them, and to restrain the force of the sea, they should construct a wall, which should run from the castle and cover and protect the city from all danger of the sea. The inhabitants not only approved of his proposal, but began the work with so much zeal, that the soldiers gave more than seven- teen hundred dollars of their wages, although they were very much behind, not having been paid in six years ; with which the governor began to make the necessary preparations, and sent for- ward a dispatch to the home government upon the subject.
The council of war of the Indies approved, in the following year, of the work of the sea wall, and directed the viceroy of New Spain to furnish ten thousand dollars for it, and directed that a plan and estimate of the work should be forwarded. Quiroga was succeeded in the governorship of Florida, by Don Laureano de Tor- res, who went forward with the work of the sea wall, and received for this purpose the means furnished by the soldiers, and one thousand dollars inore, which they offered besides the two thou- sand dollars. and likewise six thousand dollars which had come from New Spain, remitted by the viceroy, Count de Galleo, for. the purpose of building a tower, as a look-out to observe the sur- rounding Indian settlements. Whether this tower was erected. or where, we have no certain knowledge. The towers erected on the governor's palace and at the northeast angle of the fort, were intended as look-outs both sea and landward.
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The statements made in reference to the building of this wall, from the castle as far as the city, confirm the opinion pre- viously expressed, that the ancient and early settlement of the place was south of the public square, as the remains of the ancient sea wall extend to the basin at the Plaza. The top of this old sea wall is still visible along the centre of Bay street, where it occasionally appears above the level of the street ; and its gen- eral plan and arrangement are shown on several old maps and plans of the city. Upon a plan of the city made in 1665, it is represented as terminating in a species of break-water at the pub- lic square. It is unnecessary to add that the present sea wall is a much superior structure to the old, and extends above twice the distance. Its cost is said to have been one hundred thousand' dollars, and it was building from 1837 to 1843.
In the year 1700, the work on the sea wall had progressed but slowly, although the governor had employed thirty stone- cutters at a time, and had eight yoke of oxen drawing stone to the landing, and two lime-kilns all the while at work. But the money previously provided, and considerable additional funds was requisite, resembling in this respect its successor. The new governor, De Cuniga, took the matter in hand, as he had much experience in fortifications. The defences of the fort are spoken of as being at the time too weak to resist artillery, and the sea wall as being but slight work.
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CHAPTER XIII.
ATTACK ON ST. AUGUSTINE BY GOVERNOR MOORE, OF SOUTH CAROLINA-DIFFICULTIES WITH THE GEORGIANS.
1702-1732.
Hostilities had broken out between England and Spain in 1702. The English settlements in Carolina only numbered six or seven thousand inhabitants, when Governor Moore, who was an ambitious and energetic man, but with serious defects of char- acter, led an invading force from Carolina against St. Augustine. The pretense was to retaliate for old injuries, and, by taking the initiative, to prevent an attack upon themselves. The real mo- tive was said by Governor Moore's opponents at home, to have been the acquisition of military reputation and private gain.
The plan of the expedition embraced a combined land and naval attack ; and for this purpose six hundred provincial militia were embodied, with an equal number of Indian allies ; a portion of the militia, with the Indians, were to go inland by boats and by land, under the command of Colonel Daniel, who is spoken of as a good officer, while the main body proceeded with the gover- nor by sea in several merchant schooners and ships which had been impressed for the service.
The Spaniards, who had received intimations of the contem- plated attack, placed themselves in the best posture of defence in their power, and laid up provisions in the castle to withstand a long siege.
The forces under Colonel Daniel arrived in advance of the naval fleet of the expedition, and immediately marched upon the town. The inhabitants, upon his approach, retired with their most valuable effects within the spacious walls of the castle, and. Colonel Daniel entered and took possession of the town, the larger part of which, it must be recollected, was at some distance from the castle.
The quaint description of these events, given by Oldmixon. is as follows :
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" Col. Rob. Daniel, a brave man, commanded a party who were to go up the river in periagas, and come upon Augustino on the land side, while the Governour sailed thither, and attacked it by sea. They both set out in August, 1702. Col. Daniel, in his way, took St. Johns, a small Spanish set- tlement ; as also St. Mary's, another little village belonging to the Span- iards; after which he proceeded to Augustino, came before the town, en- tered and took it, Col. Moor not being yet arrived with the fleet.
"The inhabitants having notice of the approach of the English, had packed up their best effects and retired with them into the castle, which was surrounded by a very deep and broad moat.
"They had laid np provisions there for four months, and resolved to defend themselves to the last extremity. However, Col. Daniel found a considerable booty in the town. The next day the Governour came ashore, and his troops following him, they entrenched, posted their guards in the church, and blocked up the castle. The English held possession of the town a whole month : but finding they could do nothing for want of mortars and bombs, they despatched away a sloop for Jamaica; but the commander of the sloop, instead of going thither, came to Carolina out of fear of treachery. Finding others offered to go in his stead, he proceeded in the voyage himself, after he had lain some time at Charles-Town.
"The Governour all this while lay before the castle of Augustino, in ex- pectation of the return of the sloop, which hearing nothing of, he sent Col. Daniel, who was the life of the action, to Jamaica on the same errand.
"This gentleman, being hearty in the design, procured a supply of bombs, and returned towards Augustino. But in the mean time two ships appeared in the offing, which being taken to be two very large men of war, the Governour tho't fit to raise the siege and abandon his ships, with a great quantity of stores, ammunition, and provisions, to the enemy. Upon which the two men of war entered the port of Augustino, and took the Gov- ernour's ships. Some say he burnt thein himself. Certain it is they were lost to the English, and that he returned to Charles-Town over land 300 miles from Angustino. The two men of war that were thought to be so large, proved to be two small frigates, one of 82, and the other of 16 guns.# "When Col. Daniel came back to St. Augustino, he was chased, but got away ; and Col. Moor retreated with no great honor homewards. The periagas lay at St. Johns, whither the Governour retired and so to Charles- Town, having lost but two men in the whole expedition."
Arratomakaw, king of the Yamioseans, who commanded the Indians, retreated to the periagas with the rest, and there slept upon his oars with a great deal of bravery and unconcern. The governor's sailors. taking a false alarm, and thinking the Span- iards were coming, did not like this slow pace of the Indian king
# There must be an error, of course, in this statement of an 82-gun ship entering St. Angustine, as the depth of water would never admit a vessel of over 300 tons ; probably 82 should read 12 tons. G. R. F.
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in his flight, and to quicken him into it, bade him make more haste. But he replied, "No; though your governor leaves you, I will not stir till I have seen all my men before me.
The Spanish accounts say that he burned the town, and this statement is confirmed by the report made on the 18th July, 1740, by a committee of the House of Commons of the province of South Carolina, in which it is said, referring to these transactions, that Moore was obliged to retreat, but not without first burning the town .*
It seems that the plunder carried off by Moore's troops was considerable ; as his enemies charged at the time that he sent off a sloop-load to Jamaica, and in an old colonial document of South Carolina it is represented " that the late unfortunate, ill-contrived, and worst managed expedition against St. Augustine, was prin- cipally set on foot by the late governor and his adherents; and that if any person in the said late assembly undertook to speak against it, and to show how unfit and unable we were at that time for such an attempt, he was presently looked upon by them as an enemy and traitor to his country, and reviled and affronted in the said assembly ; although the true design of the said expedition was no other than catching and making slaves of Indians for pri- vate advantage, and impoverishing the country. * And that the expedition was to enrich themselves will appear partic- ularly, because whatsoever booty, as rich silks, great quantity of church plate, with a great many other costly church ornaments and utensils taken by our soldiers at St. Augustine, are now de- tained in the possession of the said late governor and his officers, contrary to an act of the assembly made for an equal division of the same amongst the soldiers." t
The Spanish accounts of this expedition of Moore's are very meagre. They designate him as the governor of St. George, by which name they called the harbor of Charleston ; and they also speak of the plunder of the town, and the burning of the greater part of the houses. Don Joseph de Curriga was then the gover- nor of the city, and had received just previous to the English attack, reinforcements from Havana, and had repaired and strengthened the fortifications.
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# Carroll's Hist. Coll .. vol. 2. p. 352.
t Rivers' Hist. Sketches, S. C., app., 450.
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The retreat of the English was celebrated with great rejoic- ing by the Spaniards, who had been for three months shut up within the limited space of the walls of the castle ; and they gladly repaired their ruined homes, and made good the ravages of the English invasion. An English account says that the two vessels which appeared off the bar and caused Moore's precipitate retreat, contained but two hundred men, and that had he awaited Colonel Daniel's return with the siege guns and ammunition, the castle would have fallen into their hands.
In the same year, the king of Spain, alarmed at the dangers which menaced his possessions in Florida, gave greater attention to the strengthening the defences of St. Augustine, and forwarded considerable reinforcements to the garrison, as well as additional supplies of munitions.
The works were directed to be strengthened, which Governor Cuniga thought not as strong as had been represented, and that the sea wall in the process of erection was insufficient for the pur- pose for which it was designed.
Sixty years had elapsed since the Apalachian Indians had been conquered and compelled to labor upon the fortifications of St. Augustine ; their chiefs now asked that they might be relieved from further compulsory labor; and after the usual number of references and reports and informations, through the Spanish cir- cumlocution officers, this was graciously granted in a compulsory form, until their services should be again required.
During the year 1712, a great scarcity of provisions, caused by the failure of the usual supply vessels, reduced the inhabitants of St. Augustine to the verge of starvation ; and, for two or three months, they were obliged to live upon horses, cats, dogs, and other disgusting animals. It seems strange. that after a settle- ment of nearly one hundred and fifty years, the Spaniards in Florida should still be dependent upon the importation of pro- visions for their support ; and that anything like the distress indi- cated should prevail, with the abundant resources they had, from the fish, oysters, turtle, and clams of the sea, and the arrow-root and cabbage-tree palm of the land.
The English settlements were now extending into the inte- rior portions of South Carolina; and the French had renewed their efforts at settlement and colonization upon the rivers dis- 6
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charging into the Gulf of Mexico. All three nations were com- petitors for the trade with the Indians, and kept up an intriguing rivalship for this trade for more than a hundred years.
There seems to have been at this period a policy pursued by the Spanish authorities in Florida of the most reprehensible char- acter. The strongest efforts were made to attach all the Indian tribes to the Spanish interests; and they were encouraged to carry on a system of plunder and annoyance upon the English settlements of Carolina. They particularly seized upon all the negroes they could obtain, and carried them to the governor at St. Augustine, who invariably refused to surrender them, alleg- ing that he was acting under the instructions of his government in so doing.
In 1704, Governor Moore had made a sweeping and vigor- ous excursion against the Indian towns in Middle Florida, all of whom were in the Spanish interest; and had broken up and de- stroyed the towns and missions attached to them. In 1725, Col- onel Palmer determined, since no satisfaction could be obtained for the incursions of the Spanish Indians, and the loss of their slaves, to make a descent upon them ; and with a party of three hundred men entered Florida, with an intention of visiting upon the province all the desolation of retributive warfare.
He went up to the very gates of St. Augustine, and com- pelled the inhabitants to seek protection within the castle. In his course he swept every thing before him, destroying every house, field and improvement within his reach ; carrying off the live stock, and everything else of value. The Spanish Indians who fell within his power, were slain in large numbers, and many were taken prisoners. Outside of the walls of St. Augustine, nothing was left undestroyed ; and the Spanish authorities re- ceived a memorable lesson in the law of retribution.
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CHAPTER XIV.
SIEGE OF ST. AUGUSTINE BY OGLETHORPE-1732-1740.
Difficulties existed for many years subsequently between the Spanish and English settlements. In 1732, Oglethorpe planted his colony in Georgia, and extended his settlements along the coast towards Florida, claiming and occupying the country up to the margin of the St. Johns, and established a post at St. George Island. This was deemed an invasion of the territory of Spain ; and the post was attacked unfairly, as the English say, and some of their men murdered. Oglethorpe, upon this, acting under the instructions of the home government, commenced hostilities by arranging a joint attack of the forces of South Carolina and Geor- gia, with a view to the entire conquest of Florida.
The instructions of the king of England to Oglethorpe were, that he should make a naval and land attack upon St. Augus- tine; "and if it shall please God to give you success, you are either to demolish the fort or bastions, or put a garrison in it, in ' case you shall have men enough for that purpose ; which last, it is thought will be the best way to prevent the Spaniards from endeavoring to retake and settle the said place again, at any time hereafter."
Don Manuel Monteano was then governor of Florida, and in command of the garrison. The city and castle were previously in a poor condition to withstand an attack from a well-prepared for; and on the 11th of November, 1737, Governor Monteano writes to the governor-general of Cuba, that "the fort of this place is its only defence ; it has no casemates for the shelter of the men, nor the necessary elevation to the counter-scarp, nor covert ways, nor ravelins to the curtains, nor other exterior works that could give time for a long defence ; but it is thus naked out- side, as it is without soul within, for there are no cannon that
# State Papers of Georgia. G. A. Hist. Soc.
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