Fort Matanzas

Fort Matanzas

 Fort Matanzas was an outpost that was a created in order to defend Matanzas Inlet, which was an alternative way into the city of St. Augustine. The fort, while small, was able to hold off many attacks from the British and the local Natives to the area. These attacks were often during the time of the forts active years, they even occurred during the construction of the fort. A noteworthy attack occurred On July 21, 1741, when the British noticed Spanish ships hauling building materials to the fort, to which they promptly attacked the vessel. After a painstaking battle, the Spanish came out on top and continued construction on the fort. Another noteworthy attack, one that sparked the creation of the fort was the Matanzas Massacre. During this battle, the Spanish, under the conquistador Pedro Menendez, killed over 200 French soldiers. The battle was engaged by the French, who captured Fort Caroline and were going to attempt to capture St. Augustine. The Spanish soldiers overtook the French fleet, killed all but 11 soldiers and repeated the action 2 weeks later, which the inlet where it occurred, was named Matanzas, or "Slaughters" After construction of the fort was completed, then did the battles get more intense. All the battles seemed to be for nothing though, this is because in 1763, Spain signed Florida over to the British in order to gain their other colonies back from them. This period only lasted for 21 years, until 1784, when the British handed Florida back over to Spain in light of the American Revolution. After this, the fort served little purpose, Spain didn't have many people living in Florida, and the ones who did were outnumbered by British and Americans. 

A mural painted of the fort and the surrounding area

The fort, while small, was heavily fortified. It was 50 feet wide, 50 feet long and 30 feet high. The walls were made from coquina (a cement made from ground up shells and other materials). There is a stairway that leads to the second story of the fort, where the cannons are held. There is also an interior staircase that leads to the quarters where the soldiers would sleep. There is a nature trail walkway that leads to the fort as well as a boat ramp that the ferry docks to that leads to the fort. Although this fort was in the end a loss for the Spanish, a great piece of Florida history was gained from it. One that not only adds to the richness of Florida culture, but adds identity to the land surrounding it.