Castillo de San Marcos
St. Augustine, Florida
April 2000
The Spanish crown finally got fed up with the English and other pirates
burning and sacking their town, so in 1672 they commissioned the building
of the massive fort, Castillo de San Marcos. The fort was constructed
of coquina, a seashell/sand composition which was quarried on a nearby
island. The coquina was cut into blocks and allowed to dry in the
sun. It became rock hard, but they were uncertain of its durability,
so they built the walls 12 feet thick at the base and 8 feet thick at the
top. There is a moat on three sides, but it was not intended to be
filled. When filled one time, the mosquito problem became unbearable.
After 23 years, the fort was completed in 1695 and has never been captured
in battle.
In 1702 the English returned! The townspeople took refuge in
the fort for almost two months, and the English burned the town again and
bombarded the fort with canon fire. The canon balls either bounced
off the coquina or were imbedded in its resilient surface. At night
the Spanish went out and collected the canon balls and shot them back at
the English the next day. |
