[Illustration: BAY ST. AUGUSTINE E.F.]
SKETCHES
OF
ST. AUGUSTINE.
WITH A VIEW OF ITS
HISTORY AND ADVANTAGES
AS A
RESORT FOR INVALIDS.
BY
R. K. SEWALL.
NEW-YORK:
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BY
GEORGE P. PUTNAM, 155 BROADWAY.
1848.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by
GEORGE P. PUTNAM,
in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District
of New-York.
LEAVITT, TROW & CO.,
_Printers and Stereotypers_,
49 Ann-street, N. Y.
INTRODUCTION.
This brief account of one of the most interesting towns in this country,
in many historical points of view, has been prepared to meet the wants
of those who may desire to learn something of the place in view of a
sojourn, or who may already have come hither in search of health.
The work makes no pretension to fullness of detail, nor to absolute
perfection in any particular. It is rather a glimpse at, than a full
history of, the place, though it gives such a connected view of the
course of events, as to satisfy the curiosity of such as come among us,
(and which every sojourner feels the want of,) so far as the lights we
now have can aid us in a knowledge of the past.
I have availed myself of such helps, in the few works written, as I
could find, which speak of the place.
But the field of historical researched upon which I have entered, I find
too extensive to be compressed in all its interesting particulars into a
work of this sort. The gleanings, therefore, must for the present
suffice.
THE AUTHOR.
_St. Augustine, June 20, 1848._
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
.....PAGE.
Location--Description--Antiquity--Distant Appearance--Public
Places--Public Works of the City.....7
CHAPTER II.
Early Settlement--Founder--The Objects of his Voyage from
Spain--Character--Entrance into the Harbor--Name--Massacre of the
Huguenot Protestants--Slaughter at Matanzas--Drake’s Attack--Indian
Assault--Contribution laid on the City by Davis, the Bucanier--The
Bucaniers--Expedition of Gov. Moore of South Carolina--Causes of
the same--Col. Palmer’s Attack--Oglethorp’s Invasion--Minorcan
Inhabitants--Patriot War--Purchase of Florida by the United
States--Change of Flags--Frost of 1835--Orange Trade and Groves--Fruit
Growing in East Florida--Tropical Luxuries produced--Inducements to
Agriculturists from the North.....18
CHAPTER III.
Climate of Florida--Testimony of Physicians--Coast Climate--Its
Advantages--Class of Diseases favorably affected by a Residence
in the Climate--St. Augustine as a Place of Resort for
Invalids--Accommodations--Society--Tables of Temperature of the
Climate, exhibiting the Degree of Changes during the Month and Year,
as compared with Foreign Places of Resort--Customs--Conveyances to the
City....49
SKETCHES.
CHAPTER I
LOCATION.
This city, the ancient metropolis of the Spanish Province of East
Florida, is situated near the Atlantic coast, little south of the 30th
parallel of north latitude. The southern point of a narrow peninsula,
formed by the confluence of the waters of the St. Sebastian River and
the sea, which here is backed in behind Anastatia Island, through the
inlets of North River and Matanzas bar, is the site on which the city
stands.
The island, behind which takes place an expansion of these waters into a
beautiful harbor, accessible to all classes of vessels drawing nine
feet, which is the depth on the bar at low water, is a long, low, and
narrow body of sand and coquina, or shell rock, which is covered with
various shrubbery; and though it affords a barrier to the surf of the
Atlantic, it does not obstruct the cooling sea-breeze, nor indeed a
prospect of the ocean from elevated stations.
PECULIARITIES.
The town is nearly surrounded with salt water. The face of the country,
skirting on the seaboard, from Cape Hatteras hither, is low, level, and
sandy. This feature prevails southward to near Cape Florida; when the
rock-bound shore, the rudiments of which begin with the coquina
formation opposite the city, again is made the barrier against the
encroachments of the sea, and continues until it is broken up among the
keys of the Florida archipelago.
The country around the city, is a plain of sandy shell soil, termed
“pine barren.” With this the city is joined, on the west, by a
substantial bridge over the St. Sebastian River; and on the north, in a
neck of land over a stone causeway. Egress at this point is made from
the city by a thoroughfare, once commanded by a fortified trench and
gateway. On the east, are the harbor and bay, which open in a beautiful
sheet of water, over which, towering above the sand hills, on the
adjacent island, is seen the light-house, originally a fortified
“look-out,” where the Spanish sentry watched against danger.
The peninsula on which the city stands is said to have been originally a
“shell hammock.” The soil consists of shell and sand, with an
intermixture of vegetable mould. The surface has but a slight elevation
above the level of the surrounding water. Both these circumstances are
favorable. In wet weather, the texture of the soil is favorable to a
rapid extraction of the super-abundant moisture from the surface; and in
dry weather, the slight elevation of the land above the sea, enables it
to withstand drought,--the waters percolating through the soil, refresh
vegetation.
These things conspire to promote the health of the city, inclosed as it
is by the arms of the sea, to whose salubrious and refreshing breezes it
is entirely open.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY.
The city of St. Augustine is built in the style of an ancient Spanish
military town. The plan of the city is a parallelogram, traversed
longitudinally by two principal streets the whole length. These are
intersected at right angles, transversely, by several cross streets,
which divide the city into squares. Though not larger than many of our
New England villages, the city is nevertheless regularly laid out, as it
was intended to be compactly built, each square having more or less
space, once occupied with groves of the orange, which a few years since
were the glory and wealth of the place. Indeed, it was once a forest of
sturdy orange trees, in whose rich foliage of deep green, variegated
with golden fruit, the buildings of the city were embosomed; and whose
fragrance filled the body of the surrounding atmosphere so as to attract
the notice of passers by on the sea; and whose delicious fruit was the
great staple of export.
The harbor fronts on the east, and is furnished with good wharves. The
sandy beach of the St. Sebastian brings up the rear on the west,
affording space for a delightful drive around the city; while a once
thrifty but now ruinous suburb--the bubble of speculation in “morus
multicaulus” times--called the North City, fills the background on the
north.
BUILDINGS.
The coquina rock, a concretion of sand and shell formed on the
neighboring sea-beach on the south side of the bar and on the
island--the upper extremity of which opens in sheets, ready for
quarrying, and on which quarries are now extensively worked--is the
principal building material. The streets are excessively narrow, and are
furnished with neither side-walks nor pavements. The houses are usually
two-story buildings, generally crowded into the streets; and are built
without much regard to architectural style or ornamental beauties.
Not unfrequently a piazza projects from the base of the second story,
which in some cases is inclosed with movable Venetian shutters, so as to
control the draft of air, and increase or abate it at pleasure.
These appendages, though they add greatly to the comfort of the
occupants, nevertheless disfigure the buildings by impairing their
symmetrical proportions. The piazza, especially, awakens a sensation of
peril, as one passes for the first time on horseback through the
streets, particularly if he has been accustomed to the broad
thoroughfares and elevated structures of a northern Anglo-American city.
The contrast is great.
GREAT ANTIQUITY OF THE CITY.
In all its outlines and main features, this city is deeply traced with
the furrows of age. It also wears a foreign aspect to the eye of an
American. Ruinous buildings, of antique and foreign model, vacant lots,
broken inclosures, and a rough, tasteless exterior, scarred by the
ravages of fire and time, awaken a sense of discomfort and desolation in
the mind of a stranger.
APPEARANCE.
From the sea, as you enter the inlet from the harbor, the city presents
a fine view. Any distant prospect is decidedly pleasing. Its
deformities--the narrow streets--dilapidated buildings, with their
projecting piazzas--are lost to the eye in the distance; in which, also,
unity of effect is produced by the regularity of the plan on which the
city is built; which effect is heightened greatly by the ornamental
trees, whose foliage screens many of the houses--the overshadowing pride
of India--and the vigorous “morus multicaulus.” There is, however, much
to relieve the first unfavorable impressions of a stranger. Its
comfortless appearance is the effect of first impressions, which of
course are superficial, and often delusive. The blighted stocks of
desolate orange groves--the tokens of decay--the obvious lack of
industry and taste, and the consequent want of thrift--on a close
inspection, are relieved by a constant succession of images of the past,
illustrative of the character of Castilian mind in a heroic and
barbarous age. Moreover, there is a rapid transition in progress. This
ancient city is being transformed into American features, both in its
external appearance, and in the habits and customs of the people.
Many of its recent edifices are in the neat, attractive style of
American village architecture. Especially is this the case in the
neighborhood of the Magnolia House.
PUBLIC PLACES.
The city has a public square, or inclosed common. In the centre, a
monument some sixteen or eighteen feet high, has been erected. It
commemorates the giving of a constitutional basis to the Spanish
government. On its fronts, the following Spanish sentence is
engraved:--“Plaza de la Constitution.”
The three sides of this square, or plaza, are now bounded by as many
streets, fronting on which are the public buildings. The Government
House, now used as a hall of justice, and for public offices, stands on
the west front. On the east, near to the water, are the market
buildings. The Roman Catholic Cathedral, surmounted with the vertical
section of a bell-shaped pyramid, which supports a chime of bells, and
which terminates in a small cross, stands on the north; and on the
opposite south front is the Episcopal Church, a neat, well-proportioned
Gothic edifice, having a spire and bell.
The Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, the former north and the latter
south from the common, on the same street, are well-built, substantial
houses of worship, of
[Illustration: CATHOLIC CHURCH, ST. AUGUSTINE E.F.]
[Illustration: FORT MARION, ST. AUGUSTINE. E.F.]
simple Grecian style of architecture and neat American finish.
PUBLIC WORKS.
St. Francis Barracks, on the southern extreme of the city; Fort Marion,
on the north, with its water-battery and the sea-wall, are among the
objects of historical and military interest within the city.
The sea-wall is erected of the native coquina rock. The upper stratum is
granite flagging stone. This important work is more than a mile in
extent, and of sufficient width for two to walk on it abreast. As a
public promenade, as well as a fortification against the encroachments
of the sea, it is of great use; and it is also a place of universal and
of delightful resort.
This wall incloses two beautiful basins, furnished also with stone
steps. These are the points of embarkation and of debarkation for the
numerous boatmen who navigate the neighboring waters for pleasure and
for profit.
The Castle is a fortress of great strength, covering several acres, and
built entirely of stone from the neighboring coquina quarries, and
according to the most approved principles of military science. It is
said to be a “good specimen of military architecture.”
Its walls are twenty-one feet high, terminating in four bastioned
angles, at the several corners, each of which is surmounted with towers
corresponding. “The whole is casemated and bomb-proof.” This work is
inclosed in a wide and deep ditch, with perpendicular walls of
mason-work, over which is thrown a bridge, originally protected by a
draw.
Within its massive walls are numerous cells. On the north side, opposite
the main entrance, is one fitted up as a Romish church. It has now
become converted into a storehouse for military fixtures. These rooms
are at best dark, dungeon-like abodes; and, by natural association, they
revive the recollection of scenes characteristic of a dark and cruel
age.
Some of these gloomy retreats, though like Bunyan’s giant Despair they
now can only grin in ghastly silence at the Pilgrim stranger, yet look
as if they were once the strong-holds of despotic power. With this
character the gossip of common fame also charges them.
The Castle commands the entrance to the harbor. Its water battery is
furnished with a complement of Paixhan guns of heavy caliber. These are
in a state of readiness to be mounted.
The Castle is a place of chief and universal attraction to the curious
stranger. On approaching the main entrance, through the principal
gateway, the first object of interest is a Spanish inscription, engraved
on the solid rock immediately over head, and under the arms of Spain,
and is as follows, viz.:[1] “Reynando en Espana el son Don Fernando
Sexto y Sierdo Governador y Capitan General di esta Plaza de San
Augustine de Florida y su Provincia el Moriscal de Campo Dn. Alonzo
Fernandez de Herida se conduyo este Castello el ano de 1756 dirigendo
las abras et Capitan ynginero Don Pedro de Brazas y Garay.”
On reaching the interior of the Fort, the several apartments may be
explored, except those where the magazine is found, and those which are
used as cells for prisoners--the State being permitted to confine its
prisoners therein.
Within the bastion of the northeast angle, far under ground, is a dark,
dungeon-like recess, constructed of solid mason-work. Before entering
here, the guide will furnish himself with a torchlight of pitch-wood.
This place was accidentally discovered soon after the work fell into the
hands of the American army. It was then walled up, and was not before
known to have had an existence. Of this concealed retreat, Rumor has
whispered strange things.
A human skeleton, with the fragments of a pair of boots and an empty mug
for water, it is alleged were discovered within. As to the history of
the place--whether it was once an inquisitorial chamber, or the scene of
vengeance, where bigotry invoked the secular arm to silence heretical
tongues, and suppress heretical thoughts; and as to the name, character,
standing, guilt or innocence, pleasures or pains, of the poor
unfortunate to whom the boots and bones belonged, there is silence.
Either Fame has been unable to catch the echo through the lapse of
time, or shame bids her be silent, or horror has paralyzed her tongue.
By these, and like rumors, either truth or fiction has succeeded in
investing this place with mysterious and melancholy interest to an
American citizen.
The Barracks occupy a spot on which were the ruins of an ancient monkish
retreat, near the south end. The main building is a substantial
structure, of large dimensions and neat appearance. The prospect from
it, of the harbor, bar, ocean, and neighboring country, is delightful.
Its location is one of the most eligible in the city. A large space is
inclosed in rear of the main building, for a garden; the southern
extremity of which is occupied as a military burial ground, where repose
the ashes of the major part of the regular force of the United States,
who fell in battle during the recent bloody Seminole war. Chaste and
beautiful monuments with appropriate inscriptions, mark the spot where
sleep the gory dead.
Here, beneath two pyramids, together in one bed repose the ashes of one
hundred and seven men--the gallant Major Dade and his intrepid
warriors--a sacrifice to the vengeance of the brave and warlike
Seminole, who with the Indian agent were the first fruits of the
terrible threat of Osceola, who having indignantly rejected all
overtures on the part of the government to leave the graves of his
fathers, on closing his intercourse with the government agent, being
refused the right of purchasing powder, thus addressed himself to Gen.
Thompson: “Am I a negro? a slave? My skin is dark, but not black. I am
an Indian--a Seminole. The
[Illustration: MILITARY BURIAL GROUND, ST. AUGUSTINE E.F.]
white man shall not make me black! I will make the white man red with
blood; and then blacken him in the sun and rain, where the wolf shall
smell his bones, and the buzzard live upon his flesh!”[2] The extreme
point of the peninsula, south, on which the city is located, is occupied
with the outlines of an ancient breastwork, in a ruinous condition, and
the United States Arsenal buildings.
On the whole, it will be seen, from the facts above stated, that this
city is not without its interest to the antiquary and to the historian.
If not old Spain in miniature, it is a chip of the block of the old in
the new world, a relic of the past interwoven with the texture of the
present age.