The Spaniards in Florida

About 1675, the Spanish authorities at St. Augustine, having intelligence from white servants who fled to them, of the discontented and miserable situation of the colony in Carolina, advanced 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 governor, Sir John Yeamans, having received a reinforcement, held his ground; and a detachment of fifty volunteers under Colonel Godfrey, marched against the enemy, forcing them to retire from the Island of St. Helena, and retreat to St. Augustine.23

Ten years afterwards, three galleys sailed from St. Augustine, and attacked a Scotch and English settlement at Port Royal, which had been founded by Lord Cardross, in 1681. The settlement 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 depredations on Edisto River, burning the houses, wasting the plantations, 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.24

One Captain Don Juan de Aila went to Spain in the year 1687, in his own vessel, to procure additional forces and ammunition 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 merchandise, duty free; being also allowed to take twelve Spanish negroes 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 seventeen 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 forward 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 Torres, 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 more, which they offered besides the two thousand 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 surrounding 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.

The statements made in reference to the building of this wall, from the castle as far as the city, confirm the opinion previously 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 general 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 public 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 Curriga, took the matter in hand, as he had much experience in fortifications. The defenses of the fort are spoken of as being at the time too weak to resist artillery, and the sea wall as being but a slight work.

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 character, 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 motive was said by Gov. 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 Col. Daniel, who is spoken of as a good officer, while the main body proceeded with the governor by sea in several merchant schooners and ships which had been impressed for the service.

The Spaniards, who had received intimations of the contemplated attack, placed themselves in the best posture of defense in their power, and laid up provisions in the castle to withstand a long siege.

The forces under Col. 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 Col. 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: —

"Col. Rob. Daniel, a very 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 settlement; as also St. Mary's, another little village belonging to the Spaniards; after which he proceeded to Augustino, came before the town, entered 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 up 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 Charlestown.

"The Governour all this while lay before the castle of Augustino, in expectation 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 Governour's ships. Some say he burnt them himself. Certain it is they were lost to the English, and that he returned to Charles-Town over land 300 miles from Augustino. 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.25

"When Col. Daniel came back to St. Augustine, 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 soldiers, taking a false alarm, and thinking the Spaniards were coming, did not like this slow pace of the Indian king 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.26

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 principally set on foot by the said 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 private advantage, and impoverishing the country. * * * And that the expedition was to enrich themselves will appear particularly, 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 detained in the possession of the said late governor and his officers, contrary to an act of assembly made for an equal division of the same amongst the soldiers."27

The Spanish accounts of this expedition of Moore's are very meager. 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 the then governor of the city, and had received just previous to the English attack, reinforcements from Havana, and had repaired and strengthened the fortifications.

The retreat of the English was celebrated with great rejoicing 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 defenses 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 Curriga thought not as strong as had been represented, and that the sea wall in the process of erection was insufficient for the purpose 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 circumlocution offices, this was graciously granted in a suspensory 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 settlement of nearly one hundred and fifty years, the Spaniards in Florida should still be dependant upon the importation of provisions for their support; and that anything like the distress indicated 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 interior portions of South Carolina; and the French had renewed their efforts at settlement and colonization upon the rivers discharging into the Gulf of Mexico. All three nations were competitors 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 character. The strongest efforts were made to attach all the Indian tribes to the Spanish interest; 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, alleging that he was acting under the instructions of his government in so doing.

In 1704, Governor Moore had made a sweeping and vigorous excursion against the Indian towns in Middle Florida, all of whom were in the Spanish interest; and had broken up and destroyed the towns and missions attached to them. In 1725, Col. 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 compelled 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 every thing 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 received a memorable lesson in the law of retribution.

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 Georgia, 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. Augustine; "and if it shall please God to give you success, you are either to demolish the fort and 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."28

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 foe; and on the 11th November, 1737, Governor Monteano writes to the governor-general of Cuba, that "the fort of this place is its only defense; 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 defense; but it is thus naked outside, as it is without soul within, for there are no cannon that could be fired twenty-four hours, and though there were, artillery-men to manage them are wanting."

Under the superintendence of an able officer of engineers, Don Antonio de Arredondo, the works were put in order; the ramparts were heightened and casemated; a covered way was made, by planting and embanking four thousand stakes; bomb-proof vaults were constructed, and entrenchments thrown up around the town, protected by ten salient angles, many of which are still visible. The garrison of the town was about seven hundred and forty soldiers, according to Governor Monteano's return of troops. On the 25th March, 1740, the total population of St. Augustine, of all classes, was two thousand one hundred and forty-three.

Previous to his attack upon the place, General Oglethorpe obtained the following information from prisoners whom he took at the outposts. He says: "They agree that there are fifty pieces of cannon in the castle at St. Augustine, several of which are of brass, from twelve to forty-eight pounds. It has four bastions. The walls are of stone, and casemated. The internal square is sixty yards. The ditch is forty feet wide, and twelve feet deep, six of which is sometimes filled with water. The counterscarp is faced with stone. They have lately made a covered way. The town is fortified with an entrenchment, salient angles and redoubts, which inclose about half a mile in length, and a quarter of a mile in width. The inhabitants and garrison, men, women and children, amount to above two thousand five hundred. For the garrison, the king pays eight companies, sent from Spain two years since for the invasion of Georgia; upon establishment fifty-three men each, three companies of foot and one of artillery, of the old garrison, and one troop of horse one hundred each upon establishment; of these, one hundred are at St. Marks, ten days' march from St. Augustine; upon the Gulf of Mexico, one hundred are disposed in several small forts."

Of these out-posts, there were two, one on each side of the river St. Johns – at Picolata and immediately opposite – and at Diego. The purpose of the forts at Picolata was to guard the passage of the river, and to keep open the communication with St. Marks and Pensacola; and when threatened with the invasion of Oglethorpe, messengers were dispatched to the governor of Pensacola for aid, and also to Mexico by the same route. The fort at Diego was but a small work, erected by Don Diego de Spinosa, upon his own estate; and the remains of it, with one or two cannon, are still visible. Fort Moosa, was an out-post at the place now known by that name, on the North River, about two miles north of St. Augustine. A fortified line, a considerable portion of which may now be traced, extended across from the stockades on the St. Sebastian to Fort Moosa. Communication by a tide-creek existed through the marshes, between the castle at St. Augustine and Fort Moosa.

Oglethorpe first attacked the two forts at Picolata, one of which, called Fort Poppa, or St. Francis de Poppa, was a place of some strength. Its remains still exist, about one-fourth of a mile north of the termination of the Bellamy Road, its earthworks being still strongly marked.

After a slight resistance, both forts fell into his hands, much to the annoyance of Governor Monteano. Oglethorpe speaks of Fort Francis as being of much importance, "as commanding the passes from St. Augustine to Mexico, and into the country of the Creek Indians, and also being upon the ferry, where the troops which come from St. Augustine must pass." He found in it, one mortar piece, two carriages, three small guns, ammunition, one hundred and fifty shells, and fifty glass bottles full of gunpowder, with fuses – a somewhat novel missile of war.

The English general's plan of operation was, that the crews and troops upon the vessels should land, and throw up batteries upon Anastasia Island, from thence bombarding the town; while he himself designed to lead the attack on the land side. Having arrived in position, he gave the signal of attack to the fleet, by sending up a rocket; but no response came from the vessels, and he had the mortification of being obliged to withdraw his troops. The troops were unable to effect a landing from the vessels, in consequence of a number of armed Spanish galleys having been drawn up inside the bar; so that no landing could be made except under a severe fire, while the galleys were protected from an attack by the ships, in consequence of the shoal water.

He then prepared to reduce the town by a regular siege, with a strict blockade by sea. He hoped, by driving the inhabitants into the castle, so to encumber the governor with useless mouths, as to reduce him to the necessity of a surrender, to avoid starvation. The town was placed under the range of his heavy artillery and mortars, and soon became untenable, forcing the citizens generally to seek the shelter of the fort.

Col. Vanderduysen was posted at Point Quartel; and others of the troops upon Anastasia Island, and the north beach. Three batteries were erected: one on Anastasia Island, called the Poza, which consisted of four eighteen-pounders and one nine-pounder; one on the point of the wood of the island, mounting two eighteen-pounders. The remains of the Peza battery are still to be seen, almost as distinctly marked as on the day of its creation. Four mortars and forty cohorns were employed in the siege.

The siege began on the 12th June; and on the 25th June a night sortie was made from the castle against a portion of the troops under command of Col. Palmer, who were encamped at Fort Moosa, including a company of Scotch Highlanders, numbering eighty-five men, under their chief, Capt. McIntosh, all equipped in Highland dress. This attack was entirely successful, and the English sustained a severe loss, their colonel being killed, with twenty Highlanders, twenty-seven soldiers, and a number of Indians.

This affair at Fort Moosa has generally been considered as a surprise, and its disastrous results as the consequence of carelessness and disobedience of the orders of Oglethorpe. Captain McIntosh, the leader of the Highlanders, was taken prisoner, and finally transferred to Spain. From his prison at St. Sebastian, under date of 20th June, 1741, he gives the following account of the matter: —