St. Francis Barracks
St. Francis Barracks (1765-1900, 1907-Present) - First established as a military barracks in 1765 by British forces in present day St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida. Active Florida National Guard post. Named for St. Francis in 1881. Also known as State Arsenal and St. Augustine Arsenal.
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St. Francis Barracks Early History
The original structure began as part of the chapel and convent of Convento de San Francisco established by Spanish Franciscan missionaries in 1588. The Convento de San Francisco buildings were rebuilt with coquina walls after 1702 after several fires and conflicts destroyed the wooden structures.
British Period (1763 - 1783)
In the Treaty of Paris (1763) the Spanish ceded Florida to the British. During the British occupation of Florida between 1763 and 1783 the existing buildings were converted to military use and several additional buildings were constructed, one of which, the Kings Bakery, has survived and been restored. The British used the barracks to house the garrison for the nearby Fort St. Mark (Castillo de San Marcos under Spanish rule).
Second Spanish Period (1783-1821)
With the Treaty of Paris (1783) control of Florida returned to the Spanish. The barracks was also used by the Spanish to house the garrison for the the renamed Castillo de San Marcos.
U.S. Period (1821-1900)
The Adams-Onis Treaty (ratified in 1821) gave control of Florida to the United States and the Castillo de San Marcos was renamed as Fort Marion in 1825. The first use of the newly acquired buildings of the barracks was as a jail. In 1832, Congress set aside the barracks land as a military reservation.
Second Seminole War (1835-1842)
The Second Seminole War began on Christmas day 1835 with the massacre of 107 officers and men under the command of Major Francis L. Dade by hostile Seminole Indians. It was during the Second Seminole War that the south end garden of the reservation came into general use as a post cemetery. At the end of the conflict in 1842, a solemn ceremony took place that moved the remains of the officers and men of Dade's massacred command from the site of the massacre to the post cemetery at the barracks garden. The remains of Dade's command and eventually some 1468 officers and men killed in the Second Seminole War were interred in vaults under three coquina stone pyramids that remain there today in what became the St. Augustine National Cemetery in 1881.
U.S. Civil War (1861-1865)
Current Status
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Currently the Florida Military Department Headquarters and the St. Augustine National Cemetery in St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida. The post contains historical buildings dating back to the British era including the restored barracks building and the restored Kings Bakery building. Also present are restored officer quarters buildings from the 1880s and more modern periods. All of these buildings are currently in use. A significant part of the reservation is now the St. Augustine National Cemetery which is small by national cemetery standards but very historic. The cemetery contains the remains of the officers and men killed in the 1835 Dade Massacre that signaled the start of the Second Seminole War. All of the Dade Massacre victims are interred under three coquina rock pyramids with a marble monument to all the casualties of the Seminole Wars. The vaults under the three pyramids contain the individually unidentified remains of 1468 officers and men killed in the Second Seminole War including the Dade Massacre victims.
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Location: 108 Marine Street in St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida. Maps & Images Lat: 29.885708 Long: -81.309640 |
Sources:
- Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 201
Links:
Visited: 5 Mar 2012
St. Francis Barracks Picture Gallery
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