J. T. Van Campen

“ Augustine’s Golden Age under Spain. Substantial coquina houses and tastefully decorated chapels lined its narrow streets. The inhabitants lived in relative ease and comfort. Social life was gay with colorful carnivals and religious celebrations rivaling those of Havana, Cuba. The capital was now a city of three thousand souls, and would soon be two centuries old. Florida seemed held firmly in the grip of Spain.
But English colonists to the north now numbered almost one million and one hundred thousand Frenchmen had settled in Canada. ”

“ The ships were a part of the fleet of Don Pedro Menéndez. They brought an expedition from Spain to establish settlements in Florida and drive out the French Huguenots, who had a fort near the mouth of the St. Johns River in this Spanish-claimed territory. The French colony, named Fort Caroline, lay only some thirty-five miles up the coast from the point where the Spanish ships were anchored. There on this very same day Jean Ribault, who had just arrived from France with reinforcements, was preparing to attack the Spaniards before they could finish landing and fortify their position. ”

“ Over one hundred Spaniards were thus killed by the Indians during the first year of the colony’s existence.
A Le Moyne drawing, showing Florida Indians attacking a rival village with flaming arrows.
Indian attacks became so serious as to cause the removal of the settlement to another site. One night, when Menéndez was absent on an exploring trip, yelling savages broke through the Spanish lines at St. Augustine, and set fire to the storehouse with flaming arrows, destroying precious powder and supplies. ”

“ In the darkness it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe. With shouting pirates at their heels, the governor and part of the garrison managed to reach their fort and beat off attempts to take it.
The next morning the pirates systematically looted the homes and churches, and a previously hidden pirate ship appeared in the bay. Unable to take the fort, the invaders left their captives on the beach and sailed away under the cover of darkness. St. Augustine’s residents returned to find sixty of their comrades dead in the blood-stained streets. ”

“ One of the highlights in the early religious annals of Florida was its first visitation by a Bishop in 1606. Bishop Altamirano arrived at St. Augustine from Cuba shortly before Easter. Impressive religious ceremonies followed with candles burning brightly on the flower-decked altars. On Easter Saturday the Bishop ordained twenty young men as clerics, some of them natives of the settlement. On Easter Sunday he celebrated Mass and confirmed 350 Spaniards. After a week’s rest, the Bishop made a leisurely tour of the outlying Franciscan missions, confirming a total of 2,000 Indian converts. ”

“ Soon after Tonyn became governor of East Florida reports began to reach St. Augustine of unrest in the English colonies to the north, followed by news of bloodshed at Lexington and Bunker Hill. Tonyn suspected some in East Florida of being in sympathy with the rebel cause, including his old enemies, Drayton and Turnbull. Most of the inhabitants, however, had arrived too recently from England or other loyal colonies to desire independence. St. Augustine remained as faithful to its English rulers as it had been to its Spanish Kings. ”

“ The day after Christmas two heavily armed Spanish ships appeared off the inlet bringing aid. Fearing their retreat would be cut off, the Carolinians burned their transports, abandoned their heavy stores, set fire to the town, and withdrew overland to vessels awaiting them at the mouth of the St. Johns River.
The Castillo had triumphed in its first test, but the town of St. Augustine was virtually reduced to ashes. Spanish eyewitnesses testified that not a building was left standing except the Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, and some twenty houses of the meaner sort. ”

“ Assured of Governor Tonyn’s sympathy and protection, all of the surviving colonists—men, women, and children—later marched in a body up the King’s Road to St. Augustine. Turnbull returned from London in the fall of 1777 to find himself and his New Smyrna colony ruined.
At St. Augustine the refugees were assigned lands north of the City Gates, where they built crude shelters and managed to eke out a living by fishing, hunting, and gardening. Time proved them a self-reliant, industrious people, who gradually attained more comfortable circumstances. ”

“ The blazing sun scorched the beaches and swamps. Mosquitos and other insects made life miserable. Estéban de las Alas, one of Menéndez’ trusted lieutenants in charge of the post at Santa Elena, sailed with 120 men for Spain, arguing that those remaining would have a better chance for survival on the limited supplies. The garrison at St. Augustine mutinied, burned its fort, and began building a crude boat in which to leave. The settlement of Florida hovered on the brink of failure. ”

“ The man destined to establish the first permanent settlement in Florida and expel the French Huguenots was a Spaniard of noble lineage, Don Pedro Menéndez. Born in 1519 in the little seaport town of Avilés, on the northern coast of Spain, he was one of a large family and upon the death of his father was sent to be reared by relatives. Against their wishes he went to sea while still in his teens to fight the pirates, or corsairs, who lurked along the nearby French and Spanish coasts. ”

“ As the Quakers were brought up the coast they noted the chain of Spanish sentinel posts south of St. Augustine, which were located on high dunes overlooking the sea, beach and river. By means of smoke signals, or Indian runners, they could quickly warn the capital of danger.
The little Quaker band was hospitably received at the settlement and quartered among its inhabitants. “This place is a Garrison,” wrote Dickinson, “maintained one-half by the King of Spain and one-half by the Church of Rome. The male inhabitants are all soldiers, everyone receiving his pay according to his post. ”

“ The English evacuation of Savannah in 1782, followed by their withdrawal from Charleston, caused Loyalists to pour into East Florida and St. Augustine by the thousands. Housing was inadequate. Many of the unfortunate refugees lived in mere huts of thatched palmetto leaves. Plays were given in the statehouse for their benefit. One of the newcomers set up a print shop and began publishing Florida’s first newspaper, the East Florida Gazette. The population of East Florida soared to 17,000 including slaves.
In 1781 Governor Tonyn finally called East Florida’s first Legislative Assembly. ”

“ After the War of 1812 there was still friction between Spanish Florida and the United States. Bands of Indians and escaped slaves occupied choice lands of the Florida interior, fortified the navigable rivers, and made occasional raids across the border. The Spanish garrison was not large enough to control lawless elements. In 1817 Fernandina and Amelia Island were taken over by MacGregor, an English soldier of fortune, later occupied by the pirate Autry, and became a den of outlaws and smugglers. ”

“ The growing of oranges was an important industry in St. Augustine and its vicinity at this time. Many of its residents derived their principal income from the sale of the golden fruit, which was shipped by sloop to northern cities. The town was described by visitors as being virtually bowered in groves, and on each side of the Plaza were two rows of handsome orange trees, planted by Governor Grant during the English occupation. ”

“ Food supplies diminished with each passing day. The buildings at Fort Caroline, renamed San Mateo by the Spaniards, accidentally burned down with all their contents shortly after its capture. The other vessels of the Spanish fleet, scattered by the storm while crossing the Atlantic, failed to arrive with expected supplies and reinforcements. To relieve the situation Menéndez decided to go to Cuba for aid. On his way down the coast he picked up the remaining French survivors, who were too few to prove a threat and were kindly treated. ”

“ In the midst of his preparations, intelligence reached Spain that a strong French fleet under Jean Ribault was being readied to sail for Florida to reinforce Fort Caroline. More arms and soldiers would be needed. The royal arsenals were thrown open and the King agreed to furnish one vessel and three hundred soldiers at his own expense. By late June, Menéndez had assembled a formidable armada of some nineteen ships and 1,500 persons, most of it concentrated at the Spanish port of Cadiz. There were scenes of parting from loved ones, the last solemn Mass at the Cathedral. ”

“ Augustine from New Smyrna in 1777, were not greatly disturbed by the impending change in sovereignty. They were Catholics and spoke a language similar to Spanish. They supported themselves by fishing, hunting, and by cultivating small groves and gardens. Some had become small shopkeepers. St. Augustine was their chosen home.
Many English still remained when Governor Zéspedes arrived off St. Augustine with thirteen vessels to take over the province of East Florida for Spain. ”

“ The King ordered Pedro de Valdés, the Governor of Cuba, to make a thorough investigation of conditions in Florida. Valdés sent his son to St. Augustine in 1602 to hold hearings, in which missionaries and settlers of long residence testified. While many of these witnesses expressed the view that a more favorable location for a settlement might be found, the conclusion reached was that St. Augustine should continue to be maintained as a center for the expanding missions, and as a base to guard the vital trade route. ”

“ When Philip II of Spain and his advisors learned of these French Huguenot activities in Florida, they were greatly alarmed. The French fort, if allowed to remain so close to the route of the treasure fleets, would constantly expose them to attack. Manrique de Rojas was dispatched from Cuba to investigate. During May of 1564 he sailed up the Florida coast looking for signs of a French settlement, but found only one of the columns left by Ribault, the abandoned fort and a French boy at Port Royal. ”

“ During Grant’s administration, a Doctor Andrew Turnbull and associates of London secured a large grant of land near Mosquito Inlet, some eighty miles south of St. Augustine. There they planned to establish a plantation colony for the production of indigo, for which the British government offered an attractive bounty. Turnbull named the place New Smyrna in honor of his wife’s native Smyrna, where he had also spent some time.
After visiting East Florida to inspect his landgrant, Turnbull returned to Europe to recruit colonists from the shores of the Mediterranean. ”

“ A large flag made by the ladies is waving on the square. By order of the Governor of this State, the Fort, Barracks, and Federal property were taken possession of. Cannon are mounted on the ramparts of the Fort to defend it if any attempt should be made to retake it.”
Soon the shouting ceased and war became a stark reality with its heartaches, poverty, and privation. Many young men from St. Augustine went into the Confederate armies. The majority of its northern-born residents returned to the North to live for the duration of the war. The flow of visitors to the city ceased. ”

“ Augustine to Williamsburg, Virginia, to support hard-pressed Governor Dunmore. During August of that year another incident brought the war home. The British brigantine Betsy lay off St. Augustine’s inlet with a cargo of gunpowder for the garrison. A rebel sloop from Charleston swooped down and captured it within sight of people on shore. When the news of the signing of the Declaration of Independence reached this East Florida capital, there was no rejoicing. Instead angry Loyalists gathered in the Plaza to cheer the burning of straw-stuffed dummies, representing Samuel Adams and John Hancock. ”

“ Then through the wind and rain they plunged into the wilderness, guided by two Indians who had been at the French fort a few days before. Menéndez and a small party of axmen went ahead to clear a trail and blaze the trees so that the men following would not lose their way. At places they waded through swamps flooded waist-deep by the storm, at night seeking higher ground on which to camp and build a fire. Some became exhausted; others lost courage and turned back. On the evening of September 19th the Spaniards reached the vicinity of the enemy fort. ”

“ The Virginia colony survived and others crept down the coast in defiance of Spain’s claims to the territory. The Spanish governors at St. Augustine repeatedly implored authorities in Spain to strengthen Florida’s garrison and defenses to meet this English threat. But the mother country, almost constantly involved in wars with European rivals, or vexed with internal problems, took no decisive action. ”

“ Augustine the vessels proceeded to New Smyrna, where crude shelters were built. Clearing the land for cultivation, and in the meantime feeding and clothing such a large number of people proved more difficult and expensive than anticipated. Due in part to crude living conditions, three hundred died during the first winter. Soon after their arrival, some of the Greeks and Italians broke into the storehouse, fatally wounded an overseer, and were on the point of sailing for Cuba when intercepted by an armed vessel sent from St. Augustine to subdue them. ”

“ The original inlet through which they sailed has disappeared, and a man-made channel now cuts through the barrier islands. Davis Shores, a popular residential district across the bay, was once a marsh from which the English shelled the fort and town in 1740.
At the south end of the original settlement the State Arsenal occupies the site of the Franciscan Monastery, from which the heroic Friars went forth to Christianize the Florida Indians. Across from it the Oldest House, owned by the St. Augustine Historical Society, preserves some of the Spanish atmosphere of former periods. ”

“ After an enthusiastic beginning progress lagged at times for want of funds, lack of vigorous prosecution, or when epidemics thinned the ranks of slaves and Indian workmen. In the spring of 1683 it was interrupted by a threatened attack, one of many to which St. Augustine was continually subjected. English pirates landed near Matanzas Inlet, burned the Spanish outpost there, and advanced toward the capital. Warned by alert sentinels, the governor sent out a detachment of musketeers, who waited in ambush and drove the raiders back to their ships. ”

“ When he had first come upon this little bay and inlet, chosen for his base, he gave it the name St. Augustine in honor of the Saint’s day (August 28th) , on which his ships first sighted the Florida coast.
The Spanish Treasure Fleets
At the time of St. Augustine’s founding Spain was the most powerful nation in Europe. Sailing under her banner, Christopher Columbus in 1492 had initiated the discovery of strange new lands across the sea. Other intrepid explorers followed—Spanish, French, English, Dutch, and Portuguese—searching for the coveted sea-route to the Indies. ”