Chapter XIII: Introduction: By W. P. Trent (11)

About this period the English settlements in Carolina were established, which was considered an encroachment upon the territory claimed by the Spanish Crown by virtue of discovery and occupation. Unfriendly feelings speedily grew up between the English and Spanish colonies, embittered by difference of religious faith and an inherited rancor on both sides.

In 1648, St. Augustine is described as having more than three hundred householders, and containing a flourishing monastery of the Order of St. Francis, with fifty brothers in residence, all zealous for the conversion of the Indians. The parish Church was built of wood.

But the poor little city was destined not to rest in peace. In 1665, one hundred years from its foundation, it was visited by Captain Davis, an English buccaneer and free-booter, of a class then numerous in those seas. He landed his forces near the city, marched directly upon the town, looted and plundered it without meeting, it is said, with any resistance from the Spanish garrison in the fort, which numbered some two hundred men-at-arms. The easy capture of the town by this casual free-booter indicated the necessity for stronger fortifications and better means of resistance.

The Castle of San Marco had been commenced and partly constructed by the labor of the Appalachian Indians, no doubt very slowly and unwillingly rendered. Don Juan Marquez de Cabrera, having been appointed Governor in 1681, at once applied himself to the completion of the castle and other fortifications.

The English settlements in Carolina continued to create much dissatisfaction. The Spanish Crown claimed the whole Atlantic coast as their province of Florida, and it is so designated on ancient maps, even including Delaware and Pennsylvania, then being settled by Penn and his colonists. An attack was made in 1681 on a Scotch and English settlement at Port Royal by three armed galleys sent out from St. Augustine. Many of the English colonists lost their lives, and much property was destroyed, which later led to bitter retaliation.

Menendez, by his contract with the Spanish Crown, had been authorized to take to Florida five hundred negro slaves, but did not avail himself of the privilege, and it was not until 1687 that one Captain de Aila brought the first Spanish negro slave into Florida. Later the inhabitants of Carolina complained that the authorities at St. Augustine seduced and harbored their runaway slaves, which was not denied, but justified by the claim that they did it for the good of the souls of the negroes.

Hostilities having broken out between England and Spain, and a bitter feeling already existing between the English in Carolina and the Spaniards in Florida, Governor Moore, of South Carolina, led an expedition into Florida in 1702, and with a considerable force made an attack upon St. Augustine by sea and by land. He easily captured the town, and the inhabitants retired to the fort, where they were besieged for over a month. For want of heavier guns, Moore was unable to capture the fort, and had to retire; not, however, till he had committed the useless barbarity of burning the town. Upon the departure of the English forces, the inhabitants gladly set to work to repair or rebuild their ruined homes.

About this period the building of a sea wall was begun, to protect the town from the encroachment of the sea, and leisurely proceeded for many years. Portions of this ancient wall may yet be seen within the present wall, which was built by the United States after the change of flags.

In 1704, Governor Moore again appeared before the old city, and partially destroyed its habitations, but was unable to make any impression on the stalwart castle. Bad feelings were reciprocally held for many years by the English in Carolina and the Spaniards in Florida.

In the meantime, another English settlement having been made in Georgia by General Oglethorpe, the English drew nearer to Florida and occupied a country still claimed by the Spanish Crown. The Spanish Governor notified Oglethorpe to depart, and gave indications of a forcible attempt to dispossess the new colony. Oglethorpe determined to be beforehand with the Spaniards, and organized an expedition made up from his own colony and Carolina, and proceeded to invest St. Augustine by sea and by land. The town was now, however, better fortified, and the Castle had been greatly strengthened. Oglethorpe’s batteries on Anastasia Island were too light to make an impression upon the walls of San Marco, the soft rock imbedding his balls without injury. The siege lasted thirty-eight days, but, being unable to reduce the Castle, Oglethorpe at last gave up the attempt, and withdrew his forces. The marks of his cannonade may still be seen on the eastern walls of the fort.

The repeated outbreaks of the Indians and the inroads of the English had discouraged all attempts at cultivation in the vicinity, and the city remained little more than a garrison town, until, by the Treaty of 1762, Florida was ceded to the English Crown. The Spanish inhabitants nearly all left with the garrison for Cuba. The English flag was raised upon the Castle of San Marco, and an English Governor, an English garrison and English colonists came in to occupy the city and the province. Judicious measures were at once taken to advance the interest and growth of the city and the two Floridas. Bounties were offered for the production of indigo and naval stores, and a considerable commerce at once grew up. Roads were opened, and settlements made in the interior and on the coast. During the twenty years of English occupation extensive barracks were erected in the city, which was much built up and improved; and, could it have remained under the English flag, Florida would have been as well populated and as prosperous as the other colonies of England in America. The acknowledgment of the independence of her other colonies, which had organized a confederacy against her rule, rendered Florida of little consequence as a small and isolated colony, and, in 1783, England ceded Florida back to Spain.

As a consequence of this recession and change of government, the English inhabitants nearly all left for Carolina and Georgia or the British West India Islands. St. Augustine fell back into its old condition of a garrison town; the works of improvement begun by the English were abandoned, and the old city renewed its sleepy existence. There was indeed some attempt by land grants to induce immigration, but with no great result.

So things went until 1812, when, fearing that England intended to acquire Florida, which would be a menace to the interests of the United States, President Monroe, under a resolution of Congress, ordered troops into Florida. St. Augustine was threatened, but not conquered or reduced. The country was raided, plantations were devastated, and much injury done before the United States troops were recalled. Finally, Spain was worried into an agreement to sell Florida to the United States for a pecuniary compensation.

In the year 1821, the Spanish flag, planted at St. Augustine in 1565, was hauled down finally, and the Stars and Stripes waved over the Castle of San Marco, which by a senseless order was renamed Fort Marion, which name it now bears. The Spanish inhabitants generally remained, and their descendants still constitute the larger portion of the resident population of the ancient city. Under American rule people from the adjoining States came in and began to establish settlements, but the Indian tribes still held possession of the largest portion of the territory.

In 1835, the Seminole Indian War broke out; for seven years hostilities were maintained, and it was not until 1842 that peace was restored. St. Augustine suffered with the rest of the territory, and little progress was made in population or prosperity. It still remained the leading town, though that did not mean much, and when the war was over other towns, notably Jacksonville, grew into importance. Some invalids, not many, came for a winter’s sojourn, but there was little change until the Civil War. At an early day Commodore Dupont came into the harbor with his armed vessels, and the town was quietly surrendered, supplied with a garrison, and went into an enforced apathy from which it never emerged until the war was over.

After 1865, a new era sprang up for St. Augustine; railroad communication was opened to Tocoi, on the St. John’s, and, later on, to Jacksonville. Winter visitors began to come in large numbers, and hotels on a large scale were built. Finally, Mr. H. M. Flagler became interested in the old city, and built the famous and most beautiful Ponce de Leon, the Alcazar, and the Cordova, with many other handsome buildings. He purchased and improved the railroad, filled in the marshes of the St. Sebastian, and erected a new city alongside of the old. The population has been doubled, and its attractions have greatly increased. A railway system has been established, taking in the whole east coast of Florida as far down as Miami, with connecting lines of steamers to Key West, Havana and Nassau. Few towns can now boast of more attractive residences, and none of such magnificent hotels for the solace of the traveler. After a varied existence of over three centuries, the ancient city has put on a new life of elegance and prosperity.

Dear old city! how many sweet associations it has for the many thousands who have visited it in these past years! How many walks on the sea wall; how many boat rides on its placid waters; how many excursions into its meandering creeks, and strolls along the beach of Anastasia Island; how many cozy corners in the loggia of the Ponce de Leon, and the corridors of the Alcazar, come at the call of memory!

The gray and time-worn old Castle of San Marco, with its gloomy portals and dark chambers, seems in a moment to carry the visitor back three centuries to another people and another age. People may come, and people may go, but the old Castle will remain for centuries, a memorial to the long-past age of the Spanish monarchy in America.

INDEX

A

Academy, the French, 170

Acropolis, the, 165

Act of Secession, 165

Adair, address of, 340

Adams, John, 87;
and the national capital, 125;
quoted, 88, 128, 148, 204

Adams, J. Q., 93, 140

Adams, Louisa J., 93

Adams, Mrs. John, 128, 135

Adams, Samuel, and the Stamp Act, 196

Addison’s _Cato_, 269

_Advance_, the, 246

_Advertiser_, the Edgefield, xxviii, note

Agassiz, 273

Alabama, settlement of, 356;
_see also_ Mobile and Montgomery;
Sevier buried in, 463

Alabama Convention, 402

Alabama Platform, 399

_Alabama Swan_, the, 392

“Alabama Town,” 382, 384

_Albemarle_, the, 250, 251

Alexandria and the national capital, 116

Alferez Real, the, 424

Algonquins, 101, 102

Alibamons, 335, 340

_Alice_, the, 366

Allan, John, 174

Allen, James Lane, 534

Allen, Rev. Bennett, 80

Allston, Washington, 275

Almonester, Don Andres, 424, 425

_America_, the, 22

_American Notes_, Dickens’s, 521

Anacostan, 101

Anacostia, 101, 146

Anacostian River, 105

Anastasia, 570, 575

Andersen, Hans, quoted, 68

Anderson, Colonel, 371

Anderson, D. C., 362

Anderson, Gen. Robt., 505

Anderson, Mary, 534

_Ann_, the, 300, 324

_Annalist_, the, 455

Annapolis, 12, 75, 79;
Sara Andrew Shafer on, 47-73;
settlement, 47-53;
the first church, 53-56;
the first school, 57;
the State House, 58;
the Revolution, 59;
historic homes, 61-66;
U. S. Naval Academy, 68-73

Annapolis Convention, the, 201

Anne Arundel, 52, 53

Anstill’s night ride, 355

Antietam, battle of, 94

Antigua, 276

Apalaches, 341

Appalachian Indians, 570, 571

Arbuthnot, 290

Arizona, 478

_Ark_, the, 1, 50

Arkansas, 335;
_see_ Little Rock

Arkansas Indians, 539, 540

Arlington, 148

Armstrong, James, 455

Arnold, Benedict, in Richmond, 161

Arthur, President, 320

Asbury, Bishop, quoted, 82

Ashe, Col. John, 238, 240-242

“Ashland,” 505, 531

Ashley, Chester, 548, 549, 552

Ashley River, 251, 252

Athens, 494

Atlanta, Ga., xvi

_Atlanta_, the, 324

Audubon, John J., 273, 504, 518

Augusta, Ga., xxv

Avar, tomb of, 413

B

Bacon, Nathaniel, 164, 191, 192

Bahamas, the, 251

Bainbridge, Peter, 83

Baker’s Creek, battle at, 443

Baldwin, M. J. D., 360

Baltimore, xix, xxix, 79, 108, 130, 325, 436;
St. George L. Sioussat on, 1-45;
early towns, 5;
the Act of 1709, 7;
union with Jonas town, 8;
1709-1754, 10;
growth of foreign trade, 12;
the French and Indian War, 14-18;
before the Revolution, 18-21;
in the Revolution, 21-28;
Kennedy’s description of old, 28-32;
growth before the War of 1812, 32-36;
in the War of 1812, 36-38;
internal improvements, 38;
divided during Civil War, 39-41;
higher life of, 41-45

Baltimore, Lords, 1-3, 21, 51, 52

_Baltimore_, the, 11

Baltimore & Ohio R. R., 39

Bancroft, George, 70;
quoted, 199, 264

Barbadoes, 229, 251

Barbe, Marie, 358

Barnett, Rev. John, 233

Barton Academy, 359

Bartow, Francis S., 322

Bartram’s Botanical Expedition, 344

Bas Fonde, 330

Bassett, 213

Bate, Gen. Wm. B., 498

Bath, N. C., 223, 224

Báthori, S., 154

Battle Monument, 18

Bayliss, Mrs., 141

Bazares, exploration of, 330

Beall, Joseph, 83

Beall, Samuel, 83

Beatty, Thomas, 83

Beaudrat, execution of, 339

Beaufort, N. C., 223

Beckly, J. J., 208

Bell, John, 491

Bell House, 169

Bellimi, Charles, 214

Belvidere, 35

Benjamin, S. G. W., 275

Benton, T. H., 464, 490

Beresford, Richard, 271

Berkeley, Sir Wm., 164, 191, 192

Bernhard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, 358

Bertrand, 357, 358

Bethesda, Ga., 311

Bethlehem, 26

_Beulah_, Augusta Evans’s, 362

Bienville, 332, 333, 335, 338, 340-342, 357, 416, 418, 424

Big Black, battle at, 443, 444

Big Rock, 541

“Big Salt Lick,” 483

Bigbee, 344

Bill of Rights, 204

Biloxi, 332, 338, 417, 434

Black Beard, 230

Bladensburg, battle of, 132

Blair, John, 214

Blair, Wm., 83

Blakeley, 354, 369

Bland, Richard, 199

Bledsoe’s Lick, 479

Bloody Marsh, 316

Blount, Gov. Wm., 451, 453-455, 458, 462, 463

Blount, Mary Grainger, 454

Blount College, 458, 461

Bolling, Jane, 159

Bonnet, Stead, 230, 231, 258

Boone, Daniel, 480, 486, 504, 508, 509

Booth, J. B., 363

Bordley, 16

Bordley House, 63

Borland, Solon, 548

Boston, 21, 240, 315

Botetourt, Lord, 207

Boucher, Rev. Jonathan, 19

Bourbon County organized, 437

Bourbons, the, 357

“Boz,” _see_ Dickens

Braddock, General, 14, 78, 79, 115

Bragg, General, 470

Bray, Rev. Dr., 54

Brewton, Miles, 260

Brice Mansion, 62

British, attack Washington, 131-136;
at Wilmington, N. C., 242;
besiege Charleston, 264, 266;
attack Fort Bowyer, 355;
in the Southwest, 510-512

_Brooklyn_, the, 370

Brooks, Walter, 440

Brown, Governor, of Georgia, 323

Brownlow, Wm. G., 466-469

Brunswick, N. C., 223, 232-234, 239, 242

Buchanan, Admiral, 371

Buchanan, Dr. George, 40

Buell, General, 496, 498

Buford, Colonel, quoted, 402

Bunker Hill, battle of, 315

Burgoyne’s surrender, 511

Burke, Edmund, 316;
quoted, 286

Burnside at Knoxville, 470, 472

Burr, Aaron, at Richmond, 174;
capture of, 353;
at Nashville, 492;
at Louisville, 530

Burwell, Hon. Lewis, 190

Burwell, Lucy, 190

Bush River, 5, 6

Byrd, Col. Wm., 155, 157

Byrd, Col. William Evelyn, founds Richmond, 156-158;
visits Edenton, 224

Byrd, Evelyn, 158

Byron quoted, 509