This fort still stands today, built to protect the city of St. Augustine. Standing as America’s oldest masonry fort, the Castillo de San Marcos has weathered the elements for more than three hundred years. It is the tenth in a series of forts built to protect the city. The previous nine had been constructed of wood before Queen Regent Mariana of Spain finally approved the construction of a powerful masonry the Castillo de San Marcos. Work on the fort began in October of 1672 after a pirate attack did some damage to the wood fort in 1668. The new fort was constructed using coquina rock, which is a type of rock composed almost entirely of the shells of mollusks, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. Today, the fort still stands as …show more content…
the largest fort ever constructed by Spain in North America. The first battle it’s mighty walls withstood was in 1702 when an English army that was lead by Gov.
James Moore tried to capture St. Augustine. Fifteen hundred soldiers and citizens took refuge within the forts great ways and managed to hold off the English Army for fifty-two days. Moore burned the city outside of the fort before a Spanish fleet relieved those trapped and still fighting in the fort. This effort pinned Moore as the first name on the list of the many commanders who tried to overtake the Castillo de San Marcos but failed. In 1738, a second construction project began to strengthen the fort. City walls and additional forts were added in order to better protect the walls of St. Augustine. The new additions to the fort were finished in time to defend themselves when the War of Jenkins’ ear erupted. The lost ear of an English sea captain provoked General James Oglethorpe to lead an army from Fort Frederica in Georgia to attack St. Augustine. The English attack the city for 27 days with the fort walls absorbing the battery hits and cannon balls without much damage. Once again, a Spanish fleet jumps in and storms the English camp just outside of the city. Realizing that they aren’t able to overtake the Castillo and it’s mighty walls, the English general withdraws his army from the
city. Finally, in 1763, the British gain what they could not take in battle thanks to a peace treaty. Spain sided with Frances against Great Britain in the French and Indian war. Florida was given to Great Britain as part of the agreement and the Spanish flag that once flew high over the city was replaced. The Castillo was renamed Fort St. Marks and was already almost one hundred years old when the British troops took over. Years later, the old fort was under attack one final time in the war of 1812.
Dia de los reyes magos is on Jan. 5 - Feb. 2 and the day is about the 3 wisemen, But January the 6th is the special day in Mexico….. this day represents the height of the Christmas season. This celebration is where it is stated that the kings, Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthasar, traveled by night all the way from the farthest confines of the Earth to bring gifts to Jesus, whom they recognized as the Son of God. As well as regal, the Three Kings are depicted as wise men, whose very wisdom is proved by their acknowledgement of Christ's divine status. Arrived from three different directions, the kings followed the light provided by the star of Bethlehem, which reportedly lingered over the manger where the Virgin Mary gave birth for many days. In
Failing to take St. Augustine after several attempts, Oglethorpe retreated to St. Simons Island to make preparations for a battle with the Spanish. Fortifying Fort St. Simons, at the site of today’s lighthouse, became his mission. However, the Spanish met little resistance at Fort St. Simons. The Spanish overpowered Fort St. Simons then started to advance toward Fort Frederica. However, they met with some resistance along the way. Following the charge by Oglethorpe and his troops, the Spanish turned back. This battle, known as the Battle of Gully Hole Creek, significantly
Privateers were already decimating our fleet in the open waters and the harbor was a sitting duck. Consequently, New Bedford stopped waiting for the federal government to complete construction at the fort, and about 1 month after the war had begun, New Bedford completed construction. Fort Taber protected Clarks Cove and the Acushnet River access to the Harbor, and Fort Phoenix protected the east side of the bay. Both were manned by Coast Guard personnel. The forts were an effective deterrent to keep enemy fire away from the bay, and a not a single shot was fired, unless you count the gun salutes during the patriotic rallies
Francisco Pizarro was a famous Spanish explorer. On September 13, 1524, Francisco Pizarro set sail from Panama to a conquest of Peru. He brought about eighty men and forty horses with him. In 1528, Pizarro went back to Spain managed to obtain in a group of people from Emperor Charles V. Francisco Pizarro was known for capturing the Inca Emperor, Emperor Atahualpa, in 1532. In 1533, Pizarro conquered Peru.
The British chose to attack the Americans from the north by way of Isle aux Pois in the mouth of the Pearl River because this was the only only stable water they had found that ships could ride and anchor. When hearing that the british where coming this way, Lieutenant Thomas Ap Catesby Jones and his five gunboats went to try and Barackade the Rigolets trying to make sure they wouldn’t enter. His 185 men and 23 guns awaited the British. At 10:30 on December 14th 1814 three columns of British ships, 42 to 45, armed with 43 guns and 1,200 under the command of Captain Lockyer met the American blockade. Fierce fighting began and the British had finally captured the five American boats. Losses were 17 British and 6 Americans killed, 77 British and 35 Americans wounded. This gave Gerneral Andrew Jackson six days more to improve his defenses. The British at the very beginning of the war had demolished almost all of Jacksons sea power. Jackson only had the Carolina, Louisiana, and one gunboat left.
A few major battles broke out before the Alamo such as the Battle of Gonzales, the Battle of Goliad and the Battle of Concepcion. The Siege of Bexar ended on December 11 with the possession of San Antonio where the former Franciscan mission, Alamo, stands. General Houston felt that holding San Antonio was both impossible and unnecessary, so he sent Jim Bowie to destroy the Alamo and come back with the men and cannons located there. When Bowie arrived, he saw it had strong defenses and decided to defend the city.
Major Anderson thought that the people of Charleston were about t attempt to seize Fort Sumter. He would not stand for this, so since he was commander of all the defenses of the harbor, and without any orders to disagree with him, he said that he could occupy any one of his choice. Since he was being watched he only told his plan to three or four officers that he knew that he could trust. He first removed the women and children with a supply of provisions. They were sent to Fort Johnson on Dec. 26 in vessels. The firing of tree guns at Moultrie was to be the signal for them to be conveyed to Sumter. In the evening the garrison went to Sumter. The people of Charleston knew that the women and children were at Fort Johnson and thought that Anderson would take his troops there. (www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/battlefort-sumter.html)
When Washington got there, the French claimed that they owned the land and refused to give it up. Washington reported this to Governor Dinwiddie, and was ordered to go back and construct a fort so they could defend their territory if there was a war against the French. While constructing a fort, named Fort Necessity, Washington and his men shot a small group of French men, because they would not leave the area. It turned out that they had shot French spies. A few days later, the French attacked the unfinished fort which resulted in Washington losing a third of his army.
...ola. With the information he gained from the governor, Gordon reported back to Jackson that Pensacola was being used by the British. Because of this information, Jackson took Pensacola, which then would result in the Battle of New Orleans.
In 1775, Benedict Arnold had taken his first victory-Fort Ticonderoga. The Battle of the fort occured on May 10, 1775. Arnold and four-hundred soldiers stood opposite of the fort on Lake Champlain and waited for the scouting units to return (CIA). When they had returned, they told Benedict that the fort had only housed fourty-nine British soldiers, a megar amount compared to Benedict's. But the scouts had also noted that there were only two boats that could transport Benedict and his soldiers, therefore only a hundred or so men actually particapted in the capturing of Fort Ticonderoga (History Ticonderoga). Benedict still wanted to suprise the soldiers, so they attacked Ticonderoga's south gate, where only one sentry was stationed. Benedict damanded their surround once they had rose from their sleep. The British troops complied and the fort was won with no casualties and not a single shot fired (CIA). With the fort under the patriots control, the army gained a hundred cannons that the army despreately needed (fourty-three of which were transported and used by General Knox against the British at Boston) and a passage from New York into Canada( History Ticonderoga)which led Benedict to his next military excersion.
He informed his officers that they would prepare for an attack before daybreak. On March 6, 1836, Mexican soldiers stormed the walls of the Alamo under the cover of darkness early in the morning. Santa Anna’s troops attempted to occupy jacales (picket and thatch huts) located near the southwest corner of the compound. Small arms fire from inside the Alamo beat back several attacks lasting approximately two hours. After regrouping, the Mexicans scaled the walls and rushed into the compound again. Once inside the Alamo compound, Santa Anna’s troops captured a cannon and turned and blasted open the doors that were keeping the Mexican army out. The desperate struggle continued until the defenders were overwhelmed. After a bloody 90-minute battle, the battle had ended and Santa Anna entered the Alamo to survey the scene of his victory. Santa Anna ordered the bodies of the slain defenders burned.
Santa Anna’s hubris gained from early victories and political posturing would come back to haunt him. The month following the siege of the Alamo, Santa Anna would meet his fate. On 21 April 1836, Sam Houston’s vengeful soldiers attack and rout Santa Anna’s isolated detachment at San Jacinto in 20 minutes. The Texans slaughter 650 enemy troops and capture 700 more. Santa Anna escaped; however, he was captured the following day.
This historical cite was a part of the civil war history. In November 1861, following the capture of nearby Port Royal, South Carolina, by Union forces, General Robert E. Lee, Commanding Union Confederate forces in the region, ordered Tybee Island and other islands near the fort abandoned because they could not be adequately defended. In February 1862 the Union commander in the district, Brigadier General Thomas W. Sherman, decided to take the fort by siege. He ordered troops to Tybee Island and constructed defenses on the smaller neighboring islands to cut the garrison from reinforcements. Captain Quincy Gillmore of the Engineer Corps became in charge of the siege preparations on Tybee. Gillmore ordered his engineers to construct a series of eleven artillery batteries along the North Shore of Tybee Island. They worked mostly at night and camouflaged the work on the batteries to prevent the fort's garrison from discovering their plans. By April 9, Gillmore had twenty cannons and fourteen mortars in position to bombard Fort Pulaski. He demanded the surrender of the fort, but Colonel Olmstead declined, Federal guns maintaining a slow, steady fire all day. By afternoon it became apparent that the heavy shells from the rifled cannons would be able to break through the walls of Pulaski. The guns from the fort returned fire but did no damage to the Union positions. The final day was on April
At an immense price to living and possessions, Hurricane Andrew unpredictably fortified to a Category 5 hurricane while it landed in southeastern Florida right after an eyewall replacement cycle
The Castillo de San Marcos can be found on the shores of Matanzas Bay in the city of St Augustine, Florida. It is the oldest masonry fort in the US. The walls reach 33 feet high and are 12 feet thick. This fort took 23 years to build.