In the month of June, in the year 1586, the little town of Saint Augustine received the dubious distinction of being sacked and burned by the famous English corsair, Sir Francis Drake.
It wasn't much of a contest. The Spanish garrison, consisting of eighty soldiers, manned a wooden fort armed with fourteen bronze cannon. Not much defense for the remaining two-hundred and fifty colonists. considering the fact that Drake's fleet of more than twenty warships. manned by two thousand mariners and soldiers. awaited just across the bay!
Drake had not come searching for Saint Augustine, having just plundered Spanish settlements in the Caribbean,and holding Santo Domingo & Cartegena for ransom. He was headed for Raleigh's Virginia colony. While sailing along the Florida coast, a watchtower piqued El Draco's curiosity. Drake had just stumbled another Spanish town!
A landing party attempted to enter the town, but the boats were fired upon as soon as they came in range of the fort's guns. The English drew back, landed guns on Anastasia Island and a brief, but relatively uneventful, exchange of cannon fire then ensued.
The following day, Drake landed a force of a thousand men. The town & fort lay abandoned, the population having fled into the nearby woods. As they entered the fort, evidence of the defenders' haste was apparent. The invaders found that the garrison paychest containing 10,000 silver ducats had been left behind!
It would be Captain Anthony Powell's blatant violation of the "kiss" rule, (Keep It Simple Stupid!), that would alter the chain of events somewhat. Apparently, Powell had spotted a saddled horse, mounted it and charged to the woodline in response to Spanish taunting. He struck Juan Contreras in the head with a lance, then, he in turn, was immediately dragged from the horse and hacked to death by the angry locals.
It seems that Anthony Powell was also Drake's cousin (oops!). His decision to not only loot, but burn the town, cut down all the fruit trees, and destroy the gardens, was an act of revenge for the loss of his kinsman!
El Draco came, pillaged, burned the town to the ground, and continued his merry way, voyaging up the coast to reach Sir Walter Raleigh's colony. Even with the loot—fourteen bronze cannons and the 10,000 silver ducats—amd mourning the loss of his foolhardy cousin, Drake apparently deemed his raid on the Spanish town of Saint Augustine, an insignificant event, barely worth mentioning in his records.
Spanish officials, however, had to explain the loss of the garrison payroll and how they had defended themselves with honor in the face of overwhelming odds to the crown. So a little embellishmentof the actual events of June, 1586 was to be expected on their part! A few of their accounts to the House of Trade and the king are printed below.
Pedro Menéndez Marqués to the president of the House of Trade, San Agustin, June 17, 1586.
Very Illustrious Sir
I am reduced to such a situation that I do not know where to begin to relate the hardship and misery which have befallen this land. Therefore this communication will not be long, as will be observed.
On the 6th instant Francis Drake arrived at this port with 42 sail, 23 being large vessels and nineteen pinnaces, frigates and shallops. At dawn on the 7th he landed 500 men and with seven large pinnaces sought me forthwith in the fort. With 80 men I had in the fort I resisted him until nearly midday. In view of my resistance he sent to the ships which lay outside the bar for reinforcements, and in nine vessels landed some 2000 men and planted four pieces of artillery among certain sand dunes near the fort, with which he began to batter it. I retired as best I could, to protect my women and children (more than 200 persons).
Having occupied the fort, the enemy took and sacked the town and burned the church with its images and crosses, and cut down the fruit trees, which were numerous and good. He burned the fort and carried off the artillery and munitions and food supplies. We are all left with the clothes we stood in, and in the open country with a little munition which was hidden. We are without food of any sort except six hogsheads of flour which will last twenty days at half a pound per head. I am reporting to His Majesty in full in the accompanying dispatch and entreat your lordship to forward it immediately, and to favour me as far and as speedily as possible, since help for Florida must come from your lordship's hands.
Our Lord, etc.
San Agustin, June 17, 1586.
Pedro Menéndez Marqués
The royal officials of Florida to the Crown, San Agustin, June 17, 1586.
Sacred Catholic Royal Majesty
As soon as news was received here of the damage which the English corsair had done in Santo Domingo, desiring to prepare as best he could (after consulting the persons best able to advise and after having reached an agreement with us to that effect), General Pedro Menéndez Marquéz built a new fort at the harbour mouth, at the bar, at the end of the channel, to protect the entrance. There he placed all the artillery and munitions. Considering how quickly it was done and by how few people, and with what scanty materials, the fort was very effective and well situated.
Therefore we removed thither the royal strong-box and all the books and papers of the accountant's office and others in addition which seemed important, together with our own valuables, even our clothing. And so did the general and the other soldiers who were there when the enemy arrived and assaulted with such vigour that we were compelled to withdraw under such stress of risk and danger that we could save nothing but the garments on our backs, and our arms and munitions. The enemy took everything. The royal strong-box contained little money because, payments due on account of these two forts being made, there is never much over, most years nothing.
Concerning the enemy's approach and the strength with which he attacked us, the general will report to Your Majesty, in whose compassion we confide, trusting that Your Majesty will decide to order that we be favoured and provided for in such great affliction and calamity as this in which we remain, and so do we humbly entreat Your Majesty, whose sacred Catholic royal person Our Lord preserve many and happy years with increase of greater realms and lordships as Christianity has need.
San Agustin, June 17, 1586.
Sacred Catholic Royal Majesty
Your Majesty's humblest servants and vassals kiss Your Majesty's royal feet.
Alonso Sancho Saez, Rodrigo de Junco, Bartolome de Arguelles (Rubrics)
A facsimile copy of a map Walter Bigges' account of Drake's 1585-86 West Indian Voyage published in London in 1589. The five original maps included in the book are fold out pages measuring approximately 20"x20". As with many period maps there is little in the way of directional convention.
The geography presented in this series of maps is compares quite well with the layout of the cities involved. Recognizable, are the general outlines of the coastlines, port entries and sometimes even the structures, such as fortifications and streets, as much as 400 years later. I can only conclude that the cartographer, Boazio, who is known to have been on the voyage, had at least sketched the outlines, if not completed them while in port. At the very least his engravings were completed by 1589. This gives me at least a moderate amount of confidence that the details depicted in his illustrations are reasonably correct.
