The Castillo de San Marcos, Part 2—And a Giveaway

By Jennifer Uhlarik

 

On October 25, 2021, I began telling you about the history of the Castillo de San Marcos, or the large masonry fort in St. Augustine, Florida. During its existence, the Castillo has existed under six different flags, the first being the Spanish flag. I told you of the building of this impressive structure by the Spanish in my earlier post if you would like to read or refresh your memory.

 

We’ll pick up where we left off—the end of the French and Indian War in 1763. In the Treaty of Paris that ended this conflict, several Caribbean Islands went to the French, Spain got Havana and Manilla, and England had Canada and the newly acquired Florida. With that outcome, all North American land east of the Mississippi River belonged to the Brits. When this happened, the Spanish settlers in Florida made a mass exodus to Cuba. But the tropical paradise wouldn’t stay empty for long. 

The British government noticed that conflicts were brewing between the British colonists in America and the Native populations. To curb this problem, the government created the English Crown Proclamation of 1763. In it, all settlers were forbidden from moving any farther west than the Appalachian Mountains. So with their western expansion cut off, they drove southward instead—to Florida. England’s government, in return, offered 20,000 acres to any group that chose to settle in Florida, and for individual pioneers willing to settle in the new land, they gave 100 acres, plus 50 more per family member. In the first ten years of British rule, St. Augustine’s population rebounded and doubled from what it had been during the Spanish period.

 

British colonists flooded the new area, taking over the one-story Spanish-style homes their predecessors had left and, in many cases, building second or third stories onto them. They also built new homes and business buildings in St. Augustine and surrounding areas. With water on three sides of the state, Florida made for an excellent shipping locale, and its rich, fertile soil made for excellent farmland and grazing land for cattle. The British colonists prospered here.

 

However, not all was so rosy in the British colonies. Other colonists in more northern locales were beginning to rebel against the Crown, so Florida—and Fort St. Mark, as the Castillo de San Marcos was now called—became the staging area for British soldiers brought in to put down the rebellion in the Southern colonies. The fort was used as a supply base, and more interestingly, as a prisoner of war camp. During this time of British control, three signers of the Declaration of Independence were captured and held at Fort St. Mark: Thomas Heyward Jr., Arthur Middleton, and Edward Rutledge. Also held at the fort was the lieutenant governor of South Carolina, Christopher Gadsden—held for 42 weeks in solitary confinement.

Arthur Middleton

Edward Rutledge

     

Thomas Heyward, Jr.

 

As the Revolutionary War actually broke out, Florida didn’t see any great action. It all took place in the more northern colonies we are familiar with. But Spain took plenty of shots at Britain while their attention was focused on the war with their unruly colonies. The Spanish came in to take Baton Rouge, Mobile, Natchez, and even Pensacola. When it became obvious to Britain that they were not going to be able to hold onto their American colonies, they granted America its freedom in the Treaty of Paris in September 1783. And with little use for the British outpost of Florida, they also made a separate treaty with Spain, giving control of Florida and Fort St. Mark, back to its original owner. So the British control of St. Augustine and Fort St. Marks lasted only twenty years, and resulted in Spain’s return. What did that second Spanish period look like? We’ll explore it in next month’s post, so stay tuned!

It’s Your Turn: Were you aware that St. Augustine and the Castillo de San Marcos wasn’t always under one country’s rule? What, if anything, did you find most interesting about the British period of the Castillo’s history? Leave your thoughts with your email address to be entered in a giveaway for a print copy of Love’s Fortress.

 

Award-winning, best-selling novelist Jennifer Uhlarik has loved the western genre since she read her first Louis L’Amour novel. She penned her first western while earning a writing degree from University of Tampa. Jennifer lives near Tampa with her husband, son, and furbabies. www.jenniferuhlarik.com

 

 

COMING MARCH 1, 2022

 

Love’s Fortress by Jennifer Uhlarik

A Friendship From the Past Brings Closure to Dani’s Fractured Family

 

When Dani Sango’s art forger father passes away, Dani inherits his home. There, she finds a book of Native American drawings, which leads her to seek museum curator Brad Osgood’s help to decipher the ledger art. Why would her father have this book? Is it another forgery?

 

Brad Osgood longs to provide his four-year-old niece, Brynn, the safe home she desperately deserves. The last thing he needs is more drama, especially from a forger’s daughter. But when the two meet “accidentally” at St. Augustine’s 350-year-old Spanish fort, he can’t refuse the intriguing woman.

 

Broken Bow is among seventy-three Plains Indians transported to Florida in 1875 for incarceration at ancient Fort Marion. Sally Jo Harris and Luke Worthing dream of serving on a foreign mission field, but when the Indians reach St. Augustine, God changes their plans. However, when Sally Jo’s friendship with Broken Bow leads to false accusations, it could cost them their lives.

 

Can Dani discover how Broken Bow and Sally Jo’s story ends and how it impacted her father’s life?

Middleton Place

by Nancy Moser

My husband and I were in South Carolina last week and wanted to go to a plantation. We chose Middleton Place just north of Charleston.  We were so glad we did because not only was the house and grounds memorable, but the family who lived there were inspiring. The Middleton family were definitely overachievers: 

Henry Middleton was a president of the First Continental Congress.
*  His son Arthur Middleton, signed the Declaration of Independence
*  His grandson, Henry Middleton was governor of South Carolina, a congressman, and a minister to Russia during the rein of Czars Alexander I and Nicholas I.  Note: this Henry was an avid Unionist.
* His great-grandsons, Williams and John signed South Carolina's Ordinance of Secession, siding with the South in the Civil War, while their little brother, Edward fought in the Union Navy.

The Middleton Place plantation itself is a survivor. After enduring two wars raging around it, hurricanes, an earthquake, and having its houses burned down by the Union army, it was passed through the Middleton family to a direct descendent, J.J. Pringle Smith and his wife Heningham in 1916.  

My husband standing beneath a Live Oak

Starting in 1925 they made it their life's work to restore it to its former glory and make much-needed twentieth century updates to the house. The Smiths lived there until it was declared a National Historic Landmark and was opened to the public in 1972.  Mrs. Smith even worked the gardens herself, reclaiming them from decades of neglect and turning them into the manicured masterpiece they are today. The gardens were the first landscaped gardens in the United States.  Not flower gardens like we may expect, but lawned terraces, ponds, shrubs, and enormous Live Oaks (they have leaves all four seasons of the year, distinguishing them from the more usual oak species.) Yet during their seasons, flowers are abundant: hydrangeas, magnolias, azaleas, roses, and camellias.

Surviving "flanker" building that became family home

The plantation was started in the 1730's by Henry and the main house was built with two "flanker" buildings added on either side that were assigned other uses beyond family dwelling. The buildings were burned by Union troops during the Civil War, but some of the south flanker remained and was restored as the family home. It was occupied by family until the Smiths donated it in 1975.  It is now open to the public for tours.  The ruins of the other two buildings were further leveled in an 1886 earthquake.

The gardens... what struck me was the obvious planned layout, with the view from what was the front door of the main house to the river, allowing terraces on either side, and corresponding ponds leading to rice fields along the river that could be flooded.  Yet I didn't feel like I was in a formal (uppity?) garden as at Versailles or other palaces of Europe, but was experiencing a carefully planned park, with surprises around each bend as hedged paths led further into the woods, or to a bridge, or to a dead-end opening that was home to a sculpture or a bench.  Much of it seemed planned, yet organic, a mixture of man's and nature's plans. It was utterly charming and peaceful. 

Note:  if you want to fully feel the peaceful nature of the gardens without other tourists bothering you, stay at the adjoining Inn at Middleton Place which allows you free access to the plantation grounds--whenever you want.  You simply walk down a wooded trail and voila! You are there! (see my Trip Advisor review and photos here.)

On the plantation there are stables, carriage rides, a petting zoo, alligators sunning by the ponds, slave quarters, a mill, a chapel, other outbuildings, and demonstrations of weaving, pottery, and the like. But beyond the must-sees, two words stuck with me:  family legacy. The knowledge that one family stayed here, grew here, lived and loved here, fought for their beliefs here... that's what drew me in and kept me involved. No matter what they believed, they believed it strongly and lived their convictions. 

Some interesting historical notes:

*  There is an 1842 sketch (above) of the main house and the two flankers, drawn by a daughter-in-law. It's proven to be invaluable in knowing how things looked before the Civil War. The stables are to the right, with the slave quarters behind.

*  Arthur Middleton was schooled in England.  When he came back to the colonies of America, he married a neighbor from across the river, Mary Izard.  Mary had never been out of the colonies, so Henry took her on a three-year honeymoon tour of Europe!  Their first son, Henry, was born on that trip.  A gorgeous portrait of the happy trio is in the house museum, as are many of the silver pieces, china, art, and other treasures they purchased on their trip. This lovely portrait of the family is by Benjamin West.

*  Much of the art that was in the house during the Civil War was set to be burned.  When the Union soldiers came to the plantation with orders to burn everything to the ground, a medical director, Dr. Henry Marcy, was with the troops. Realizing all the art that would be lost with the burning, he sliced the paintings out of their frames, rolled them up, took them north, and hung them in his own home.  After the war, Williams Middleton corresponded with Dr. Marcy and managed to have some (but not all) of the paintings returned--on the condition Williams reimbursed Marcy $10 for the repairs and $30 for the new frames.

*  A son of Arthur and Mary became a painter and renowned archeologist:  John Izard Middleton was proclaimed "American's First Classical Archeologist."


The first Henry Middleton

*  After the Smiths moved in, they found an old trunk in a barn, covered in rotting straw.  Inside, preserved by the camphor wood lining, were items of 18th century clothing, including a gold silk waistcoat and breeches that were worn in a portrait of the first Henry. It's rare to have both the clothing and the portrait in which it was worn survive.

*  As a man loyal to the South, Williams Middleton turned all his money into Southern script--over a million dollars.  Of course, after the war it was worthless.  The family would have lost the plantation if not for Williams' sister, Eliza Fisher who had married a wealthy Northerner.  She provided the funds to keep Middleton Place in the family, and helped it rebuild after the war.

I will share a bit about the slaves at Middleton Place in another blog.  I highly encourage you to visit the plantation and dive into its history.

NANCY MOSER is the best-selling author of 25 novels, including Love of the Summerfields, Christy Award winner, Time Lottery; Washington’s Lady, Mozart’s Sister, The Journey of Josephine Cain, and Masquerade. Nancy has been married for forty years—to the same man. They have three grown children and five grandchildren, and live in the Midwest. She’s earned a degree in architecture; run a business with her husband; traveled extensively in Europe; and has performed in various theatres and choirs. She knits voraciously, kills all her houseplants, and can wire an electrical fixture without getting shocked. She is a fan of anything antique—humans included. Author Website, Footnotes from History Blog, Author Blog/Inspirational humor, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Good Reads  

Read my latest book Love of the Summerfields: 1880 England. The lives and loves of manor and village intertwine. Earl and shopkeeper, countess and clerk—all will be stunned and transformed by a secret that begs to be revealed. When the Weston family returns to Summerfield Manor at the close of the London social season, both village and manor relax into their normal existence. But for four women, turmoil awaits. Each must battle the restrictions of her position as her faith and character are tested. Each will have a choice to make between her own happiness and a truth that will turn their carefully-ordered world upside down.