Forgotten Forts Series - Fort Marion

NFB22

Sergeant Major
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Location
Louisville, KY
Fort Marion, now known as the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, FL is the oldest permanent seacoast fortification in the United States. Construction on this fortification began in 1672 by the Spanish who then controlled Florida. Construction took over 20 years and the post was completed in 1695. The fort is a 4-sided masonry struture which consists of 4 major bastions and is accessed by a ravelin. It is also defended by a moat that encompasses the fortification.
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Under Spanish control both the fortification and the city of St. Augustine were besieged twice, once in 1702 and again in 1740, by English forces. Both times the fort withstood the siege thus achieving its purpose. After the French & Indian War Florida was ceded to England and the fort was turned over to British forces who changed the fortification's name from Castillo de San Marcos to Fort St. Mark. Fort St. Mark was used as a base of operations and as a military prison by the British during the American Revolution and was well kept up and improved during the war. Following the Revolutionary War Florida was ceded back to Spain until 1821 when the United States took over Florida following the signing of the Adam-Onis Treaty.
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After the United States took control of the fort it was renamed Fort Marion after the "Swamp Fox" Francis Marion of Revolutionary War fame. The fort was immediately garrisoned and improved with US forces adding a water battery and hot shot furnace which can be seen in the picture above. Much of the fort was transformed into a prison for use in the Indian Wars most notably against the Seminoles. In 1861 Fort Marion was under caretaker status when it was seized by Florida troops in January. The fort was garrisoned by Confederates until 1862 when it and the city were abandoned by Confederate troops. On May 11, 1862 sailors and Marines from the USS Wabash under the command of Commander C.R.P Rodgers took possession of the city and fort without firing a shot. For the remainder of the war the fort served as a military prison and for the defense of St. Augustine had Confederate forces ever returned.
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Following the war the prison was once again used by the United States Army as a prison for the on-going Indian Wars. It was also used as prison during the Spanish-American War after which it was abandoned by the military. In 1924 the fort became a National Monument and was later added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1942 Fort Marion once again had its named changed this time back to Castillo de San Marcos. Today the fort is open daily except on Christmas for a fee of $7.00. Much of the fort is restored and visitors can tour the forts walls, parade ground and various storerooms and former prison cells. Also in the vicinity is nearby is the Fort Matanzas National Monument which is pictured below. Both a great examples of forts and our nation's history.
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Links to both NPS websites for the Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas:
http://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm
http://www.nps.gov/foma/index.htm

http://www.fortwiki.com/Castillo_de_San_Marcos
http://www.fortwiki.com/Fort_Matanzas

Lewis, Emanuel R. "Seacoast Fortificatons of the United States: An Introductory History" Naval Institute Press. Annapolis. 1970

Links to all other "Forgotten Forts"
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-carroll.80201/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-mcree.79876/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-duffield.79689/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-williams.79605/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-gorges.79453/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-scammel.79382/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-lancaster.79287/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-craig-nm.79104/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-pike.78757/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-livingston.78737/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-mcallister.78469/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-caswell.78408/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-wool.78325/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-mackinac.77950/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-norfolk.77859/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-clinch.77816/
http://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-fort-adams.77979/
 
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Great posts as ever NFB22. The Spanish origin explains why it kinda resembles a Crusader castle. Top notch info and pictures.
 
Great post. I love old Gulf forts. Never had the pleasure of St. Augustine but ive been to Ft. Morgan in Mobile and loved every minute of it. My hometown of Knoxville Tn. had Ft. Sanders, but, unfortunately, its been long paved over and developed. I still walk the streets where it once stood. Sad really. Ft. Sanders was one of the first Forts to employ telegraph wire strung between tree stumps as an obstacle. Casualties sustained by the confederates at Ft. Sanders were comparable to casualties sustained by the union at Cold Harbor. 800 killed, wounded or captured in roughly 20 minutes........It tickles me to see history preserved so well, Florida is def. one of the best places for living history, i commend them for their dedication and hardwork :smile:
 
Awesome picture civilwarincolor, looks like it was taken from the ravelin with the drawbridge and sallyport located off to the right that accessed the fort itself.
 
Awesome picture civilwarincolor, looks like it was taken from the ravelin with the drawbridge and sallyport located off to the right that accessed the fort itself.

I've never been there, so have no clue. The LOC notes just state that it is a guard gate at the fort.

I have been to a number of other sites for places that I have restored images, always fun to look at the original and then compare to my colorized version. I have a picture of my hand holding a color stereocard image I made of Ford's theatre taken from approximately the same spot.

Last year I went to Antietam and photographed a number of then/now spots and did the same for Gettysburg the year before.
 
Went there as a little kid, remember also having to see the first schoolhouse in the US not too far away as well. Will def. need to make it back now that I'm older.
 
Great post. I love old Gulf forts. Never had the pleasure of St. Augustine but ive been to Ft. Morgan in Mobile and loved every minute of it. My hometown of Knoxville Tn. had Ft. Sanders, but, unfortunately, its been long paved over and developed. I still walk the streets where it once stood. Sad really. Ft. Sanders was one of the first Forts to employ telegraph wire strung between tree stumps as an obstacle. Casualties sustained by the confederates at Ft. Sanders were comparable to casualties sustained by the union at Cold Harbor. 800 killed, wounded or captured in roughly 20 minutes........It tickles me to see history preserved so well, Florida is def. one of the best places for living history, i commend them for their dedication and hardwork :smile:

Exactly where was Fort Sanders? Was it near the hospital, the fire station or on towards the university?
 
Exactly where was Fort Sanders? Was it near the hospital, the fire station or on towards the university?

You're on spot when you say Florida has quite a few sites that are really well preserved. When I was younger my family would often stay in the Tampa/St Pete area for a week or two in the spring and I can remember going out with my dad each year to visit Fort De Soto at the mouth of Tampa Bay. It was a post-Civil War era mortar battery that had been very well taken care of over the years.
 
Awesome picture civilwarincolor, looks like it was taken from the ravelin with the drawbridge and sallyport located off to the right that accessed the fort itself.

The photo was taken from the covered way, just northwest of the present NPS admission shanty. The camera was pointed at the bridge that crosses the ditch between the covered way and the ravelin.


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The ravelin viewed from the southwest bastion
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During the Civil War the American army made some modifications to the fort, some that are still evident today. The SW, NW and SE bastions each had a single 8" cannon mounted on a swivel carriage and the parapets were lowered to accommodate the guns firing over them. In the NW bastion this entailed the removal of the stone sentry shelter, which was saved and replaced when the gun was removed. In these three bastions the parapets remain at their lowered level.


NE bastion. Note that the modern terreplein is up to 18" higher than it was during the Civil War, thus the parapets were comparatively higher then.
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NW bastion. Note the sentry shelter which was removed and later replaced. All traces of the gun mount itself are long gone.

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SW bastion

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On the west curtain a smaller gun, of size unknown to me, was on a swivel mount, with the parapet lowered. Instead of the banquette now seen there was a coquina pintle block.

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The Federals also mounted a pair of 10" Columbiad guns on the covered way of the north front; one in the reentrant place of arms and one in the NW salient place of arms. All traces of these guns are gone. During the American Revolution the British erected redans on these two places of arms, to give the covered way a second layer of fire.

North reentrant place of arms.
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NW salient place of arms

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