Fort Castillo de San Marcos: Saint Augustine, Florida: March 11

Fort Castillo de San Marcos is a fort that was built by the Spanish in Saint Augustine to defend Florida as well as the greater Atlantic trade route. The Fort is also the oldest masonry fortification in the continental United States. 

For more information about the history of this site, please visit: https://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm

-Artifacts-

Artifact #1

This is a photo of the draw bridge that leads into Fort Castillo de San Marcos. The bridge crosses a dry moat which is where I happened to be standing when I took the picture. Further, in the background, you can see the Fort flying its flag as well.

Artifact #2

This is a photo of the main guard tower of the Fort where guards would stand watch over the fort and city

-Exterior Photos-

Exterior Photo #1

This photo was taken just outside the Fort by the main entrance.

Exterior Photo #2

This photo was taken right next to the main entrance of the Fort of the Bay that the Fort overlooks.

-Images in conversation with the Site-

Image in Conversation #1

This is a photo of the Fort back when the moat was filled with water to attract more tourists to the site. However, as the Park Ranger, our class talked to explained, this water, damaged the Coquina that the Fort is built out of. This led the Park service to make the decision to drain the water and reinforce the base of the Fort. I thought that was an interesting piece of the Fort's history so I decided to include it as well as a photo of what the Fort looked like surrounded by water. Further, this photo is in conversation with this site simply because this photo highlights how many changes the fort has been through, throughout the years.

Source- https://www.google.com/search?q=fort+castillo+de+san+marcos+with+water+in+moat&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiioZPjjanvAhUMx1kKHULcABsQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=fort+castillo+de+san+marcos+with+water+in+moat&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoECAAQHjoGCAAQBRAeOgQIABAYULccWJw1YOY3aABwAHgAgAGyAYgB9g-SAQQxMS44mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=XIFKYKKDG4yO5wLCuIPYAQ&bih=721&biw=1333&rlz=1CAOTWH_enUS900#imgrc=b-elJryzhCvzWM

Image in Conversation #2

This is another historic photo of the Fort. In this photo, the United States Coast Guard is holding a graduation ceremony. The Fort and the city of Saint Augustine as a whole played a very important role in World War II. This image represents another chapter in the Fort's long history and that is why it is yet another image in conversation with this historic site.

Source- https://www.nps.gov/casa/learn/historyculture/florida-in-world-war-ii.htm

-The English 202 Connection-

One concept from my English 202 class that relates to Fort Castillo de San Marcos, can be found in the book The Surrounded by D'Arcy McNickle. In the book, Archilde says: "When you came home to your Indian mother you had to remember that it was a different world" (McNickle, 3). This quote highlights the isolation that many native Americans have to live in while on reservations such as the one in the book. Further, Archilde's description of the reservation being a "different world" highlights that isolation. Further, on our tour, the Park Ranger talking to my class discussed how some members of the tribes of the Seminole, Plains, and Apache, were all at one point or another held as prisoners in the fort. This relates back to the book my English class was reading because the idea of the Fort being a prison for Native Americans is similar to how many of the Native Americans on the Flathead Indian Reservation (the reservation from the book) felt like they were being imprisoned as well. So I think that the parallel that can be drawn between this historic site and the book is one that highlights the contentious and complex relationship between Native Americans and the United States Government.

-Creative Component-

This is a photo that I took at the main entrance of the fort. With this photo, I increased the contrast and made it black and white to highlight the historic nature of this site as well as its beauty. I believe that the black and white and the contrast represent not only the rich history of this site but also the beauty of the site. This photo simply looks all around serene and that is what I was going for.