|
|
Photo courtesy of the
Florida Division of Historical Resources.
|
Fourteen miles south of St. Augusine, the Matanzas inlet allowed access to the Matanzas River and the unprotected rear of the Spanish town. The British bombardment of St. Augustine in 1740 revealed this gap in defenses and shortly thereafter construction of a small fort to guard Matanzas inlet was begun. When the 50 by 50-foot coquina structure was near completion in 1742, the British returned but were repulsed by the new fort’s cannons. Fort Matanzas, along with Florida, passed into British hands with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, then was returned to Spain with a second treaty in 1783. By the time the United States took control of Florida in 1821, the fort was greatly deteriorated from erosion and rainwater. The fort’s guns had never fired in battle since that day in 1742 when they served to prevent access to the inlet by the British. In 1924, Fort Matanzas was declared a national monument. It came under the protection of the U.S. Park Service in 1933. Today, Fort Matanzas is accessible by National Park Service ferry and is open every day but Christmas.
|
