Shaking off the last of history

   Tucked into the 15-item Consent Agenda which is usually passed without discussion is the divestiture of city government's last vestiges of active historic interpretation.

   The city's collection of Colonial Spanish wardrobe and Big Heads, "the last remaining assets of the former Heritage Tourism Department," would be loaned to City Gate Productions (Michelle Reyna and Sylvia McGinnis) for use, storage and maintenance with commission approval.

   Assistant City Manager Tim Burchfield notes in a memo to commissioners that an agreement must be reached between City Gate and the Casa Monica Hotel, which has rights to the costumes for the Noche de Gala it's taken over from the city.

Historical Society building check

   St. Augustine Historical Society Executive Director Susan Parker will be joined by architects Herschel Shepard and Kenneth Smith and University of Florida Historic St. Augustine Board Chair Allen Lastinger Monday to describe the society's historic buildings at its annual meeting at 7 pm in Flagler College's Flagler Room.

   Under the society's stewardship are the Oldest House and Llambias, Segui Kirby Smith and Tovar houses. The event is free.
Our historic Water Treatment Plant

 

   January 10, 1861, Florida seceded from the U.S. to become one of the six original Southern states to form the Confederate States of America; eventually, 11 states would leave the Union.

   On the eve of Florida's withdrawal from the Union, under orders from Governor Madison S. Perry, state militia seized the fort without violence. During the first year of the Civil War, several Confederate blockade runners operated out of the port of St. Augustine.

   Confederate forces occupied St. Augustine until March 1862 when they withdrew from the city to prevent civilian casualties as Union warships approached. For the duration of the war, St. Augustine was used mainly as a rest center for Union troops.

   St. Augustine also became a haven for Unionist refugees and escaped slaves. Nearly 150 local African Americans were recruited for service in the 21st, 33rd, and 34th U.S. Colored Infantry regiments.

St. Augustine Lighthouse

   In January 1861, Confederate authorities ordered the St. Augustine Lighthouse to be darkened. Paul Arnau, the St. Augustine Collector of Customs and Superintendent of Lighthouses, oversaw its darkening and the later removal of its lighting apparatus. Elected mayor of St. Augustine in November 1861, Arnau resigned in March 1862 rather than surrender the city to the Union navy.

Government House 48 King Street

   On March 11, 1862, a small Union landing party proceeded to Government House, the seat of local government, to inform the St. Augustine City Council of the terms of surrender for the city. After the Federal occupation, the building was used as a military barracks, a hospital and a theater for Union troops.

Fort Marion, (Castillo De San Marcos)

   Confederate forces occupied Fort Marion until March 1862, when they evacuated the city. No Confederate attempt was made to retake the fort.

Plaza De La Constitución

   The Plaza includes the Confederate Monument, originally erected in 1872 on private property on St. George Street by the St. Augustine Ladies Memorial Association, then rebuilt in the Plaza in 1879 reusing material from the original monument. The names of 46 Confederate war dead from St. Augustine are listed on the monument.

   Mounted in the Plaza are two Civil War 32-pounder rifled cannons and two Civil War 8-inch Columbiad cannons from Fort Marion. The cannons were presented to the city by the U.S. War Department in 1900. In the adjacent Anderson Circle, there is a Civil War seacoast mortar from Fort Marion given to the city by the War Department about the same time.

 

   St. Augustine Bedtime Stories - dramatic accounts of famous people and events in St. Augustine's history - in booklets designed for quick reads before bed. Information here