Early morning on Matanzas Bay as seen from the parade ground at St. Francis Barracks.
Between the Florida Wars with the Seminoles and the Civil War, the U.S. Army spent a lot of time in St. Augustine during the 19th century, but by 1904, they didn’t have much use for our city. Here’s the Annual Report of the War Department from June 1904:
The military reservations in the vicinity of St. Augustine, Fla., are as follows:
” A.” Powder or magazine lot, containing an area of 11 acres.
” B.” The St. Augustine National Cemetery, formerly the post cemetery, containing an area of about fifty-eight hundredths of an acre.
” C.” The St. Francis Barracks and hospital lot, containing about 5 acres.
” D.” Two islands, near St. Augustine, in the main channel of the Mantanzas River, containing about 2 acres.
” E.” Fort Marion, an old Spanish work said to have been commenced in 1565 and completed in 1756, under the name of Castle of St. Mark. The fort and adjacent land contain about 22 acres.
” F.” Anastasia Island Military Reservation, containing about 700 acres. Continue reading