Cannon for permanent fortifications were of various sizes and
calibers, depending upon the terrain that had to be defended. At
Castillo de San Marcos, for instance, the strongest armament was on
the water front; lighter guns were on the land sector, an area
naturally protected by the difficult terrain existing in the colonial
period.
[Illustration: Figure 28--EIGHTEENTH CENTURY SPANISH GARRISON GUN.]
Before the Castillo was completed, guns were mounted only in the
bastions or projecting corners of the fort. A 1683 inventory clearly
shows that heaviest guns were in the San Agustín, or southeastern
bastion, commanding not only the harbor and its entrance but the town
of St. Augustine as well San Pablo, the northwestern bastion,
overlooked the land approach to the Castillo and the town gate; and,
though its armament was lighter, it was almost as numerous as that in
San Agustín. Bastion San Pedro to the southwest was within the town
limits, and its few light guns were a reserve for San Pablo. The
watchtower bastion of San Carlos overlooked the northern marshland and
the harbor; its armament was likewise small. The following list
details the variety and location of the ordnance:
_Cannon mounted at Castillo de San Marcos in 1683_