Cannon of Castillo de San Marcos
by Chris Thomas
Title
Cannon of Castillo de San Marcos
Artist
Chris Thomas
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
St. Augustine's most historically significant structure is the Castillo de San Marcos, a fort constructed by the Spanish between 1672 and 1695.
The need to fortify the tiny garrison town was understood as early as 1586, when it was attacked by Sir Francis Drake, an English corsair whose fleet of twenty ships and two thousand men sacked and burned the town.
The fort was built of coquina, a type of shell stone indigenous to the area and quarried from Anastasia Island.
The Castillo has never been conquered despite attacks by English General James Oglethorpe who attempted to subdue the town in 1740. Firing from the tip of Anastasia Island, he found his cannonballs were no match for the unusual consistency of coquina which absorbed the blast rather than crumbling.
Uploaded
June 4th, 2013
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