Fort Matanzas – Protecting St. Augustine, Florida
Fort Matanzas National Monument, a sentinel of coquina stone and enduring history, stands guard over the Matanzas Inlet, the southern gateway to the Matanzas River. Constructed in 1742 by the Spanish, this strategic fortress served as a crucial defense for St. Augustine, Florida, located approximately 15 miles to the north. During the 18th century, coastal Florida was a contested territory, a prize fought over by European powers vying for dominance in the New World. Fort Matanzas played a pivotal role in securing Spain’s claim to this valuable region.
The narrative of this land extends far beyond the arrival of Europeans. Archaeological evidence reveals a rich pre-Columbian history, with traces of human habitation dating back at least 12,000 years. These early inhabitants, known to archaeologists as Paleo Indians, were nomadic hunter-gatherers who roamed the landscape, following herds of mammoths and other large game, and foraging for wild plants, nuts, and berries as the seasons changed. Their presence is a testament to the enduring appeal of this coastal environment.
As the megafauna gradually disappeared, the indigenous people adapted, turning to the abundant aquatic resources for sustenance. Fish, shellfish, turtles, and alligators became integral components of their diet. Ingenious watercraft, fashioned from hollowed-out logs, allowed them to navigate the intricate network of rivers and waterways that crisscrossed the land. Around 2500 years ago, these archaic groups began to establish more settled communities, each developing its distinct regional culture while sharing common customs and traditions. The Timucuan people, who inhabited the area along the St. Johns River in east-central and northeast Florida, were one such group, leaving their indelible mark on the region’s history. The story of the Timucuan people is intertwined with that of Fort Matanzas.
The Massacre and the Naming of Matanzas
The history of Fort Matanzas is forever linked to a dramatic and violent episode: the massacre of French Huguenots at the inlet. This event, which solidified Spanish control over Florida for the next 235 years, gave the Matanzas River its name, "Matanzas" being the Spanish word for "slaughters."
The incident unfolded when King Philip II of Spain learned that the French Huguenot, Rene de Laudonnière, had established Fort Caroline in Florida. The Spanish monarch was enraged, as the colony stood on land claimed by the Spanish crown. Furthermore, Spanish treasure fleets sailed along the Florida coast on their way to Spain, making Fort Caroline a potential base for French attacks. To King Phillip, a devout Catholic, the fact that the settlers were Huguenots (French Protestants) only added insult to injury. In May 1565, Jean Ribault sailed from France with over 600 soldiers and settlers to resupply Fort Caroline, defying Philip’s protests.
General Pedro Menéndez de Aviles, tasked with removing the French presence, also set sail in May, arriving at the mouth of the Saint Johns River in August with approximately 800 people shortly after Ribault. After a brief naval encounter, the Spanish retreated south to a site they had previously scouted, a Timucuan village named Seloy. On September 8, the Spanish disembarked and established their new settlement, naming it St. Augustine in honor of the Feast Day of St. Augustine, which fell on August 28, the day they first sighted the land.
Jean Ribault, undeterred, sailed on September 10 with the intention of attacking and eliminating the Spanish at St. Augustine. However, a powerful hurricane intervened, carrying his ships far south and wrecking them along the Florida coast between present-day Daytona Beach and Cape Canaveral.
Simultaneously, Menéndez led a force to attack Fort Caroline. With the majority of the soldiers absent, Menéndez successfully captured the French settlement, killing most of the men in the process. Some inhabitants, including Rene de Laudonnière and the artist Jacques LeMoyne, managed to escape to ships and return to France. Menéndez spared the women and children, sending them by ship to Havana.
Subsequently, Menéndez learned from Timucuan Indians that a group of white men were stranded on the beach a few miles south of St. Augustine. He marched with 70 soldiers to the location where an inlet blocked the path of 127 shipwrecked Frenchmen attempting to return to Fort Caroline.
Using a captured Frenchman as a translator, Menéndez recounted the capture of Fort Caroline and urged the French to surrender. Despite rumors to the contrary, he made no promises to spare their lives. Having lost most of their provisions and weapons in the shipwreck, the Frenchmen surrendered. However, when Menéndez demanded that they renounce their Protestant faith and embrace Catholicism, they refused. As a result, 111 Frenchmen were executed. Only 16 were spared – a few who claimed to be Catholic, some impressed Breton sailors, and four artisans whose skills were needed in St. Augustine.
Two weeks later, a similar scenario unfolded. More French survivors arrived at the inlet, including Jean Ribault himself. On October 12, Ribault and his men surrendered and met the same fate, refusing to renounce their faith. This time, 134 men were killed. From that day forward, the inlet became known as Matanzas, meaning "slaughters" in Spanish. This historical event is closely tied to the significance of Fort Matanzas.
The First Spanish Period (1565-1763)
As early as 1569, the Spanish recognized the strategic vulnerability of the Matanzas Inlet. To address this, they constructed a wooden watchtower and a thatched hut to house six soldiers who would take turns keeping watch over the horizon. Upon sighting a ship, a runner or small boat would be dispatched to warn St. Augustine. The primary function of the tower was to observe and alert, as it lacked any defensive armament.
On at least two occasions, the watchtower successfully prevented pirates from using this "backdoor" entrance to St. Augustine. In 1683, English outlaws seized the watchtower, but news of the attack reached St. Augustine, prompting the dispatch of ships and soldiers who drove the pirates away. In 1686, French pirates attempted to enter the inlet, but once again, the alert reached St. Augustine, and the pirates were repelled.
Due to Florida’s warm and humid climate, these wooden watchtowers frequently required rebuilding or replacement. While no remnants of the towers remain today, archaeological evidence suggests that they may have been located on Anastasia Island, near the park’s visitor center. The history of these watchtowers is integral to understanding the purpose of Fort Matanzas.
The British Threat
Following the French, the British emerged as the primary threat to Spanish Florida. Beginning with Sir Francis Drake’s raid on St. Augustine in 1586, during which he burned the town, England repeatedly harassed the Spanish colony. The English established Charles Towne (Charleston) in the Carolina Colony in 1670, further encroaching on Spanish territory. The English colony of Georgia was founded in 1733 by General James Oglethorpe, adding another point of contention. With both colonies situated on land claimed by Spain, conflict became inevitable. British leaders sought a pretext for attacking St. Augustine, and wars in Europe provided the excuse to extend hostilities to the New World. Control of Florida meant control of the lucrative shipping lanes from the Spanish Caribbean. The British had already unsuccessfully laid siege to St. Augustine twice, in 1702 and 1740, with the second siege leaving the city in ashes.
Florida Governor Montiano understood that the British would inevitably return and likely attempt to exploit the unguarded inlet at Matanzas. In response, he immediately ordered the construction of Fort Matanzas to defend the southern approaches to St. Augustine.
Construction of the fortress tower began in the fall of 1740, with coquina stone being quarried at El Pinon, a small inlet south of Matanzas. The construction process was arduous, requiring long piles to be driven into the marsh to support the rising stonework. The British and their Indian allies repeatedly attempted to disrupt construction. On July 21, 1741, the British launched an attack on the Spanish. Two British ships, the sloop St. Philip and a schooner, sighted a Spanish sloop anchored inside the Matanzas Inlet. A Spanish galliot, unnoticed by the British, opened fire from long range, but scored no hits. Darkness and fog soon forced the British to abandon their attack.
The following day, the British renewed their assault. At 10:00 a.m., the St. Philip, now clear of the fog, advanced on the Spanish sloop. The sloop attempted to maneuver away but ran aground on one of the many sandbars in the area. The British seized the opportunity and opened fire on the stranded ship. Several shots found their mark, killing two Spanish crewmen and wounding two others. The Spanish ship retaliated, firing on the British ships and preventing them from taking further action. The St. Philip and her accompanying sloop were forced to retreat to the open sea. Had the British succeeded in defeating the ship, they would have been able to destroy the ongoing construction of Fort Matanzas.
In September 1742, Oglethorpe made another attempt to capture the inlet. By this time, Fort Matanzas was complete and its cannons opened fire. The British retreated without firing a shot. Oglethorpe returned the following April, but heavy surf prevented him from approaching the inlet or landing men and arms on the beach. Neither side exchanged fire.
In 1751, Manuel de Montiano was appointed governor of Panama, a significantly wealthier colony compared to St. Augustine and Florida. He passed away there in 1758.
The British Period (1763-1784)
Ironically, despite all the fighting in Georgia and Florida, it was a signature on a European treaty that ultimately transferred Florida from Spanish to British control. During the Seven Years War (French and Indian War), the British captured Spanish Cuba and the Philippines. Spain was compelled to cede Florida in exchange for the return of these valuable colonies. The First Treaty of Paris, signed on February 10, 1763, granted all of Florida to the British.
The Spanish residents of St. Augustine packed their belongings, including the cannons from the forts, and relocated to Cuba. On its maiden voyage to St. Augustine carrying a cannon intended for Fort Matanzas, the British supply ship Industry sank near the St. Augustine Inlet, resulting in the loss of all supplies. Archaeologists from the St. Augustine Lighthouse later discovered this wreck and recovered cannons and other artifacts.
The English garrisoned Fort Matanzas with one sergeant, six or eight infantry privates, and one private from the Royal Artillery. As the political climate shifted with the growing unrest in the American colonies, additional cannons were added to the fort, including two 18-pounders in 1763.
Life for the English soldiers at Fort Matanzas likely mirrored that of their Spanish predecessors. Days were spent in drills, repairing the fort and its equipment, and foraging for food, as the officer sought to keep his men engaged in meaningful tasks.
Britain and Spain During the American Revolution
The British divided Florida into East and West Florida, giving Great Britain 16 American colonies along with Nova Scotia. While the War for American Independence raged to the north, the Spanish, under General Bernardo de Gálvez, the governor of Louisiana, sought to harass the British on their western frontier.
Gálvez captured Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Natchez, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama, all located in British West Florida. After losing Pensacola to the Spanish, the British feared that the Spanish might attempt to capture St. Augustine using the same strategy the British had previously employed: advancing up the Matanzas River and attacking from the rear. However, these plans never materialized.
On September 3, 1783, the Second Treaty of Paris concluded the American Revolution and returned Florida to Spain. However, this time, a significant portion of the population, including business owners and plantation owners, chose to remain. With a large British presence remaining in Florida and relatively few Spanish returning, the character of the Spanish colony underwent a transformation, ultimately paving the way for its eventual annexation by the United States.
The Second Spanish Period (1784-1821)
In exchange for Spain’s support during the American Revolution, the Treaties of Versailles, which formed part of the Peace of Paris, transferred Florida back to Spain in 1783. Similar to the Spanish exodus to Cuba when the British assumed control, the majority of the British population departed for British colonies in the Caribbean, despite Governor Zespedes’s promise of equal treatment.
Governor Zespedes recognized the need for population growth in Florida, regardless of nationality, to ensure its survival. He offered generous land grants, ten-year tax exemptions, and a cash bonus to any family willing to establish a farm. He even offered to pay each pioneer 1.5 cents daily for feed supplies. Despite these incentives, restrictions on non-Catholic settlers had to be relaxed by 1786. Equally important, the Spanish government agreed to permit the migration of slaveholders into Florida for the first time.
One of the slaveholders who took advantage of the land grant offer was Zephaniah Kingsley. He and his wife, Anna Madgigine Jai, a former slave from Africa, owned and managed Kingsley Plantation on Fort George Island.
This influx of diverse people, including Americans, made the Second Spanish Period more cosmopolitan than the First. It also led to the Patriot’s Rebellion (1811-1812), in which American "patriots" residing in Spanish Florida, covertly supported by Georgians and unofficially recognized by the U.S. government, attempted to seize Florida for the United States. Lured by the promise of 200 acres of Florida land, dozens of Georgia farmers marched to attack St. Augustine. They destroyed Spanish plantations and withdrew only after a British fleet intervened. The U.S. government immediately disavowed any knowledge of the plan.
Nevertheless, Spain’s days in Florida were numbered. By 1800, Spain’s wealth and power were waning. Its once-mighty empire was crumbling. There were limited funds to maintain the Castillo and even less for the outpost fort at Matanzas. Erosion and rainwater took their toll. Fort Matanzas was already in poor condition by 1821 when Florida was ceded to the United States through the Adams-Onís Treaty, which transferred Florida to the U.S. in exchange for the cancellation of a $5 million debt, representing reimbursement for runaway slaves who had sought refuge in Florida.
The Territorial Period (1821-1845)
Only three Spanish soldiers were stationed at Fort Matanzas when the United States took possession of it in 1821. The interior was in ruins, and the gun platform’s east wall and foundation had cracked. A U.S. Army inspector reported that the tower was obsolete and held only historical value. Despite being owned by the War Department, Fort Matanzas was never occupied by the United States Army.
These early years under United States rule were marked by conflict in Florida. For years, Indian groups displaced from their land in Georgia and Alabama by white settlers had found refuge in Spanish Florida. These Indians, primarily the Creek, along with escaped African slaves, became known as Cimmarones or wild ones, which is believed to be the origin of the word Seminole. However, once Florida became a territory of the United States, these Indians were no longer safe. The U.S. Army raided their settlements, leading to a series of long and costly wars between the Seminoles and the whites. These conflicts ended with 4000 – 5000 Seminole Indians being shipped to reservations in Oklahoma, while the remaining members of this proud people sought refuge in the Everglades.
The Civil War Years
Florida became the 27th state in 1845. At the outset of the Civil War, Florida was the third state to vote for secession, doing so on January 10, 1861. Confederate troops promptly seized Fort Marion (Castillo de San Marcos) from the lone Union sergeant caretaker, who requested a receipt and travel money out of town. Believing the war would soon conclude and would not extend this far south, the Confederates removed most of the cannons from Fort Marion and sent them to more strategically important forts.
In March 1862, the Union Navy arrived off the coast of St. Augustine. Lacking guns for defense, Fort Marion was abandoned, and Union forces took control. The St. Augustine area remained in Federal hands for the duration of the war. With the St. Johns River heavily patrolled, Confederate blockade runners attempted to use the Matanzas Inlet during the war. However, the Union army stationed a barge in the river near the fort ruins, thwarting any attempts to pass.
This activity had little impact on the old tower, and the area was soon abandoned once again. Over time, the tower deteriorated further. By 1872, when artist Harry Fenn sketched the fort for the book Picturesque America, it was a quaint ruin overgrown with vegetation.
During the late 19th century, St. Augustine became a popular destination for America’s wealthy and famous. In 1885, railroad tycoon and former Standard Oil partner Henry Morrison Flagler elevated Florida’s resorts to a new level with his 540-room grand Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine. The first of three Flagler hotels in the city, the Ponce de Leon (now the main building of Flagler College), combined exotic Spanish Renaissance and Moorish architectural elements with innovative poured concrete construction.
Transported south in their private cars on Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railroad, notables such as the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, and Morgans made St. Augustine their winter home, expanding the old colonial city westward on King Street and north on San Marco. Many of the buildings downtown reflect this golden era. The Villa Zorayda, an exotic Moorish Revival style residence with courtyards and towers built in 1883 on King Street, is from this glittering period, as is the Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church (1880) and Castle Warden (1879), now Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum.
Preservation
These wealthy visitors arrived by river on excursions to the Matanzas ruins. They also visited Fort Marion in town, which, while still an active military fort until 1899, was also falling into disrepair. Believing that these historic structures must be preserved, they spoke with their friends and members of Congress. In 1916, Congress allocated $1025 for the repair of these structures, marking the first instance of the federal government providing funds for historic preservation.
Fort Matanzas National Monument was officially designated a United States National Monument on October 15, 1924. The monument encompasses the old Spanish fort and approximately 100 acres of salt marsh and barrier islands along the Matanzas River. The National Park Service manages it in conjunction with the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument in St. Augustine.
Contact Information:
Fort Matanzas National Monument
8635 A1A South
St. Augustine, Florida 32080
904-471-0116