Historic Matanzas - 1500 to 1900 - St. Augustine, Florida, USA - Timelines on Waymarking.com

Six time periods are presented on the timeline:

1565: The Backdoor to St. Augustine
Matanzas Inlet alternated with St. Augustine Inlet as an avenue of communication with the Caribbean. But it also enabled an enemy to sail up the Matanzas River and reach the city from the rear.

1568: Coastal Defense Watchtowers
Menendez ordered the construction of a chain of "sentinel houses", where guards watched for approaching vessels and aided castaways. By 1569 the Matanzas Watchtower was protecting the back door of St. Augustine.

1683-86: Pirate Attacks
Twice pirates attempted to reach St. Augustine via Matanzas. English outlaws captured the watchtower in 1683 and began marching on the city, but they were ambushed and driven off. In 1686 French pirates were repulsed even before they reached the tower.

1740-42: Lifeline!
1. Spain and Britain went to war in 1739. The British in Georgia and South Carolina besieged St. Augustine on June 13, 1740.
2. They blockaded St. Augustine and Matanzas Inlets planning to starve the city into surrender since Spanish food would not last through July.
3. But supply ships from Habana reached Mosquito Inlet on July 7.
4. Six days later Ensign Antonio Nieto was sent to fetch some food. Emerging from Matanzas Inlet, his vessels were engaged by the enemy. Nieto kept up a firefight until twilight ended the British chase.
5. That same night her returned. He entered the Inlet and sailed upriver to St. Augusting in the nick of time. The British plan had failed and the siege was lifted on July 20.
6. A Spanish reprisal in 1742 was turned back at Frederica on St. Simons Island, Georgia.

1742-1821: The Sea "Ran Mountains High"
1. On Sept. 11, 1742, two British boats rode a heavy swell into Matanzas Inlet but a cannon shot warned them to keep out. The Spanish had finished building Fort Matanzas.
2. Rough surf and a Spanish galliot kept the British from landing here April 9, 1743. It was the last attempt to destroy the fort.
3. 1763: Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain.
4. 1764: Britain returned Florida to Spain.
5. 1821: Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

Through Present Day: Preservation
In 1821 Matanzas Tower's interior was already gutted.
By 1872 the Tower itself had become a ruin.
But stabilization work by the War Department in 1916 and 1924, and the National Park Service since 1935, prevented the disappearance of the historic structure.

The timeline is located on the wall outside the entrance to the Fort Matanzas National Monument Visitor Center. It's on the right side as you walk through the passageway from the front of the building to the back of the building where you go to catch the ferry to the Fort. The visitor center is open daily from 9:00am to 5:30pm. There are no fees to enter the park or to take the ferry to the fort.

Admission fee? (Include URL/link in Long Description to website that gives the current fee): no

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   05/02/2018 hart612 visited it