Fallen Spanish Soldiers Commemoration

The Castillo de San Marcos National Monument will host a one-hour special heritage event on Saturday, May 26, 2018, to commemorate the Spanish soldiers who fell in defense of the Castillo during the British siege of 1740.

This commemoration will be held during the Memorial Day weekend, when the U.S. honors all who have fallen while serving in their country's armed forces. The event is free and open to the public. It will be held outside the Castillo on the south lawn.

About the Siege:

Governor James Oglethorpe of the colony of Georgia invaded Florida in December of 1739. He raised a mixed force of British regulars, colonial militia, and Native American fighters to attack the four Spanish outposts - Fort Picolata, Fort San Francisco de Pupo, Fort San Diego, and Fort Mosé - as they made their way to St. Augustine. The Spanish courageously defended their small fortifications, but many were killed.

The Spanish were able to get their supply ships through the Royal Navy blockade, which destroyed the British hope of starving St. Augustine into capitulation. Oglethorpe had plans to attack the St. Augustine fortress by land while British navy ships attacked the Spanish ships in the harbor, but he was frustrated in his plans by the decision of Commodore Pearce that it was best not to attack during hurricane season. Oglethorpe had no choice but to give up the siege and return to Georgia.

Admission: The event will be held on the lawn outside the Castillo, and is free to attend. Admission to the Castillo admission is $10 per adult, while children ages 15 and younger are free.

When: The one-hour event will take place beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 26, 2018.

Where: The Castillo de San Marcos is located on the bayfront in historic St. Augustine, at 1 S. Castillo Drive.

About the Castillo de San Marcos:

The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort and the only extant 17th-century fortress in the continental United States. The Spanish began construction on the fort on October 2, 1672. It took 23 years to be built, and it served as the guardian of colonial San Agustín for many years after its completion in 1695.

The Castillo replaced several wooden forts that had fallen to attacks in the early history of St. Augustine. It was built from coquina, a naturally-occurring substance on the northeast Florida coast that is composed of millions of tiny shell fragments and sand bound together with calcite. Coquina is easy to cut when it's mined and still damp, but dries to form a sturdy building material that can absorb the force of a cannonball without shattering.