The History of Saint Augustine, FloridaDewhurst, William W. (William Whitwell)
History
The History of Saint Augustine, Florida
Dewhurst, William W. (William Whitwell)
Florida -- History -- To 1821; Saint Augustine (Fla.) -- History
Oglethorpe captured the Fort at Picolata without difficulty, and after
considerable delay advanced his whole force upon St. Augustine. The
fleet, which had by this time arrived, was moored across the harbor, and
one vessel stationed off the mouth of Matanzas River, to prevent the
arrival of supplies from that quarter. A company of eighty Scotch
settlers from Georgia, all dressed in Highland costume, together with
forty Indians, were stationed at Fort Mosa, under Colonel Palmer, with
orders to avoid a battle, but to be vigilant in scouring the country, to
intercept all supplies, and to encamp every night at a different place.
Colonel Vanderdussen, who had marched from the St. Johns River by the
beach, was ordered to build a battery at Point Quartell (north beach),
while Oglethorpe, with a regiment of Georgians and the main body of the
Indians, landed on Anastatia Island, and began the construction of a
battery at the north end of the main island. Aware that his force was
too small to carry an assault on the castle, to which the inhabitants
and forces had all retired, Oglethorpe determined to reduce the fort by
bombardment, while he cut off all supplies by a blockade. The site of
the first battery constructed on the island has long since become the
channel of the river. The high ridge to the west of the lighthouse, on
which Mr. Aspinwall has lately built a small building, probably
extended at least half a mile north of the present shore line. It was
on this ridge that Oglethorpe built his first battery, and having
mounted in it several eighteen-pound cannon, he sent a message to the
Spanish governor summoning him to surrender.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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