Volume IV January, 1926 Number 3

The

QUARTERLYPeriodical of

THE FLORIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

JULIEN C. YoNGE,Editor EMMA ROCHELLE WILLIAMSPensacola Assistant Editor, Jacksonville

CONTENTS

The Nine Old Wooden Forts of St. Augustine.JEANNETTE THURBER CONNER

English Map of Tampa Bay.

The First Spanish-American War.A. H. PHINNEY

Federal Raid on Tampa Bay, October, 1863.

The Occupation of Pensacola Bay, 1689-1700, Part III.WILLIAM EDWARD DUNN

Notes and Comment.

Membership Roll of The Florida Historical Society.

Copyright, 1926, by The Florida Historical Society.

T H E F L O R I D A H I S T O R I C A L S O C I E T Y

THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF FLORIDA, 1856THE FLORIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, successor, 1902THE FLORIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, incorporated 1905

by GEORGE R. FAIRBANKS, FRANCIS P. FLEMING,GEORGE W. WILSON, CHARLES M. COOPER, JAMESP. TALIAFERRO, V. W. SHIELDS, WILLIAM A.BLOUNT, GEORGE P. RAINEY

1925ARTHUR T. WILLIAMS, PresidentC. SETON FLEMING, 1st Vice-PresidentPHILIP K. YONGE, 2nd Vice-PresidentFRED W. HOYT, TreasurerFRANCIS M. WILLIAMS, Secretary

Box 42, JacksonvilleEMMA ROCHELLE WILLIAMS, Assistant Secretary

DIRECTORSARTHUR T. WILLIAMS Ex-officio GUYTE P. MCCORDC. SETON FLEMING Ex-officio PHILIP S. MAYFRANCIS M. WILLIAMS Ex-officio A. H. PHINNEY

JULIEN C. YONGE

* * * To explore the field of Florida history, to seekand gather up the ancient chronicles in which its annals arecontained. to retain the legendary lore which may yet throwlight upon the past, to trace its- monuments and - remains, toelucidate what has been written, to disprove the false and sup-port the true, to do justice to the men who have figured in theolden time, to keep and preserve all that is known in trustfor those who are to come after us, to increase and extend theknowledge of our history, and to teach our children thatflrst essential knowledge, the history of our State, are objectswell worthy of our best efforts. To accomplish these ends wehave organized the Historical Society of Florida.

GEORGE R. FAIRBANKS.St. Augustine, April, 1857

THE NINE OLD WOODEN FORTSOF ST. AUGUSTINE

Florida is the fortunate possessor of one of thiscountry’s most interesting monuments of the past -the impressive Spanish fort at St. Augustine. Thesketch of its history which the docile traveller hears,

as he and other amiable sightseers follow the guidelike lambs, seems for the most part colorless, sensa-tional and incomplete.

It is not my intention to point out even a smallportion of what might be told concerning the fort atSt. Augustine, yet Florida owes it to that magnificentstructure - and to herself - to mention at least all thedifferent buildings called through the ages the fortof St. Augustine, and to give the correct date at whichthe imposing pile of coquina we now know as the fortwas really begun.

The founder of St. Augustine, the builder of itsfirst fort, was Pedro Menendez de Aviles, perhapsFlorida’s greatest man. 1 Menendez, after his nightencounter with Jean Ribaut’s fleet at the mouth ofthe River of May (the St. Johns), and his chase ofthe French ships up and down the coast, made a set-tlement on September 6, 7, and 8, 1565, at a place,which he named- St. Augustine because it was on St.Augustine’s Day, August 28, that he had first sightedFlorida off Cape Canaveral. 2

Mendoza, the self-complacent chaplain of Menen-dez, tells us in his amusing Memoria that he (Men-doza) landed on September 7, being with the first party

1 Born in Aviles, Spain, February 15, 1519. Died at Sant-ander, September 17, 1574.2 See Pedro Menendez de Aviles, the Meras Memorial, trans-lated and edited by Jeannette Thurber Connor. No. 3, Flor-ida State Historical Society, 1923. p. 80.

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of Spaniards, most of whom had come on shore Sep-tember 6. They were very well received by the Timu-cua cacique Seloy, who gave them his large communalbuilding for their use and allowed two captains ofMenendez, Andres Lopez Patino and Juan de SanVicente, to dig a ditch around it, “with a strongbreastwork of earth and fagots,” writes Mendoza,“which are the means of defence there are in thiscountry . . . The diligence of those two good cap-tains was so great that with the finger nails of theirsoldiers, having no other tools, they constructed afortress to defend themselves, so that when the Gen-eral landed he marvelled at what they had done.“ 3

The site of that first fort is lost to modern days.Certain deductions can, however, be made. It was notat the entrance of the harbor, it could not be seenfrom the sea, and it was on Anastasia Island. Ve-lasco, the King’s cartographer, writes of St. Augus-tine : “It was first founded at the end of an islandhalf a league wide and five leagues long.” 4

Mendoza continues graphically with a word pic-ture of the landing of Pedro Menendez himself:

“On Saturday, the eighth of the said month, theday of the Nativity of Our Lady of September, theSenor General disembarked with many flags flying,to the sound of many trumpets and other instrumentsof war and many salutes of artillery ; and, as I hadbeen on shore since the day before, I took a cross andwent to receive him, singing the psalm Te Deum Lau-damus. And the General marched straight to thecross, followed by all who came with him, and there

3 Mendoza Grajales, Francisco de. Memoria. ArchivoGeneral de Indias, 1-l-l/19. - Ruidiaz y Caravia, Eugenio. LaFlorida, su Conquista y Colonizacion por Pedro Menendez deAvile’s, tomo II, p. 451. (From my new and literal transla-tion) .4 Velasco, Juan Lopez de. Geografia y Descripcion Uni-versal de las Indias, 1571-1574, Madrid, 1894. p. 160.

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they knelt on the ground and kissed the cross ; and alarge number of Indians watched all these cere-monies, as they do all that they see done. Thatsame day, the General my lord took possession of thisland in the name of his Majesty, and all the captainstook the oath of allegiance to him as General andAdelantado of all this country.” 5

The Spaniards’ first hasty attempt at fortifyingthemselves was short-lived. By the following year,their Timucua neighbors had become hostile and In-dian fire arrows 6 destroyed the fort. This was thenews that greeted Menendez when he returned fromone of his frequent absences. He held a council withhis camp master and captains and it was decided toerect another fort, but this time at the very entranceof the bar, where they thought they would be saferfrom the Indians. Meras tells us that the colonists la-bored with a will. They were divided into four squadsand the work into four parts. They threw the dice tosee what portion of it fell to each squad. About onehundred and seventy men worked hard and in ten daysthe new fort was in a state of defence with the artil-lery in position. 7

In the beginning of July, 1566, after Menendez re-ceived succor from Spain through the arrival ofSancho de Arciniega and his fleet, another change wasmade. “The Adelantado went, with all the captains

. . . and with the advice and concurrence of themall . . . to mark out the site, place and space wherethey were to fortify themselves, which was in thesame spot that the Adelantado had fortified ; but be-cause the sea was eating away the fort, they retired

5 Mendoza, Memoria.6 For an illustration of this mode of warfare, see LeMoyne’s picture, No. XXXI in Brevis Narratio, Part II of T.de Bry’s America. Francoforti ad Maenum, 1591.7 Connor, Pedro Menendez de Aviles. F. S. H. Soc., No. 3,p. 185.

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farther inland, taking a caballero from the fort thatI had been made, for the one that was begun.” 8

The Indians and the ocean, however. were not theOnly foes to be feared by the Spanish pioneers. Hard-ships led to dissatisfaction and unrest among them, 1and their fort, which was a rough affair of wood, earthand sand, was burned by some rebellious soldiers.

Soon afterward, in 1571, Don Diego Maldonado, incommand of the fort for eight, months, was rebuild-ing it. 9 Thus, during the lifetime of Menendez, thesettlers erected four different forts at St. Augustine.

The forts of St. Augustine and Santa Elena (onParris Island, South Carolina) were the Spaniards’ twoprincipal bases of operations for defending the coastagainst “the French Lutherans”, as they called theHuguenots; for aiding and protecting the fleets andfor holding the hostile Indians in check and Christian-izing the friendly ones.

The death of the Adelantado, Pedro Menendez deAviles, in 1574, was a great shock to the small, strug-gling colony. In November and December, 1576, theKing sent a Visitador, Baltasar del Castillo y Ahedo,to inspect it. Gutierre de Miranda was lieutenant-governor at the time, having been put in charge ofthe fort of St. Augustine a few months before by Gov-ernor Hernando de Miranda, who had deserted thefort of Santa Elena and left Florida. Castillo sent toPhilip II a plan of the flimsy structure, l0 and reportedhow efficiently Gutierre de Miranda was working to

8 Ibidem, p. 200 A caballero--cavalier in English-was araised fortification inside a fort, on which guns were placedfor attack or defence.

9 Informacion dada por el Adelantado, Madrid, 1573-1574.A. G. de I., 2-5-4/12, 3-20, l.-Connor, Colonial Records ofSpanish Florida. F. S. H. Soc., No. 5, Doc. VIII.10 Baltasar de1 Castillo y Ahedo to Philip II, Havana.February 12, 1577. A. G. de I., 54-2-3.-Connor, Colonial Rec-ords F. S. H. Soc., No. 5, Doc. XX. This plan has disap-peared.

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put it in a satisfactory condition. When he took thefort in hand, it was in such a state that if he hadnot set about repairing it at once, it would havefallen. There were but two cannon that could befired, so the Lieutenant-Governor and his soldierswent across the river “to dig up all the artillerywhich had been buried at the old fort,“ 11 - presum-ably in 1570, at the time it was burned in the mutiny.The expression “across the river”, used by Gutierrede Miranda, may mean that the fourth fort, begun byMaldonado and strengthened by Miranda, was situatedon North Beach, the peninsula opposite Anastasia Is-

land, 12 It was certainly not on the mainland, but verynear the sea, as one gathers from the Report of Florez,the King’s Inspector.

The following year, 1577, when Governor PedroMenendez Marques stopped at St. Augustine on hisway to Santa Elena, he found that Gutierre de Mi-randa had but one month’s stock of flour, the coastnatives were up in arms, allied with those ofGuale (the ancient tribe which preceded the Yamaseein eastern Georgia) and Santa Elena (the Edisto ofSouth Carolina), and the men, women and childrenwere gathered in the fort. 13 Menendez Marques wasa man of resourcefulness and he and Gutierre de Mi-randa were able to cope with the situation.

11 Gutierre de Miranda, “Informacion.” Santa Elena, Feb-ruary 9, 1583. A. G. de I., 54-5-16, 35.12 The “Discurso sobre la poblacion de la costa de la Flor-ida e inconvinientes que se ofrecieron para su fortificacion ydefensa” (Ms. Direc. de Hidrog., Madrid, Col. Navarrete, tomoXIV., Doc. No. 47, fol. 4, 1577-1580) says: “St. Augustine,where were the first fort and the people, is a small island,and St. Augustine, where now are the fort and the people, is an-other near the first where the fort used to be; and the onewhere it now is, is almost an island.” It should be rememberedthat in Spanish the word “isla” is an elastic term. It signi-fies not only an island, but also coast, promontory, etc.13 Pedro Menendez Marques to Philip II, Santa Elena,October 21, 1577. A. G. de I,, 54-5-16, 17.-Connor, ColonialRecords. F. S. H. Soc., No. 5, Doc. XXVI.

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The next Visitador sent to Florida by Philip IIwas Alvaro Florez, who wrote, in the autumn of 1578,the longest and most complete description in exist-ence of the forts of St. Augustine and Santa Elena atthat early date. Indeed it is doubtful whether anystates besides the present Florida and South Caro-lina can boast of a more curious document than thisreport of Florez. 14 It contains also a full list of theofficers, soldiers, officials and inhabitants of St. Aug-ustine and Santa Elena in 1578. Florez tells us thatthe platform of the fort at St. Augustine is all madeof juniper-wood, and the guns are set up on it; thedimensions are fifty-two feet wide by sixty-five long,and the wall round about is of heavy pine logs. Thelength of the platform extends along the shore, northand south, and the width toward the woods, east andwest. North and south it is over a fathom high onthe inside, and two fathoms outside ; east and westit is over a fathom and a half high, inside and out,“with its loopholes all around for the musketry andarquebuses, and its portholes for the artillery.” Weare given the number, weight, position, characteristicsand ornaments of the guns on the platform and onthe two caballeros.

One cannon had as a distinctive mark a savagewith a club in his hand ; a demi-culverin had a mer-Imaid with a tortoise. The three cannon and one ofthe demi-culverins were so aimed as to protect theriver bank and paths in the woods from which Indianattacks might be expected. One saker was aimed to-ward a street of the little town and the river bank onthe south side. The caballeros, guardroom, stocksand fetters, bells used for guard mounting, sentry-

14 Alvaro Florez, Visitation of the Forts of Florida, Sep-tember-November, 1578. A. G. de I., 2-5-2/10.-Both the origi-nal and the translation of this paper will be issued in theirentirety in the second volume of Colonial Records, Connor, F.S. H. Soc., which is shortly going to Press.

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boxes, soldiers’ quarters, arquebuses, muskets, pikesand half-pikes, concealed postern, munition maga-zines, supplies and weights and measures are all min-utely described. One can reconstruct in imagination- but following accurate lines, which is the only wayimagination should work with history - the daily lifein the fort of St. Augustine in 1578.

Alvaro Florez, “the Illustrious Senor Captain andVisitador,” consulted with Pedro Menendez Marques,“the Senor General and Governor,” and they were ofthe opinion that, “inasmuch as this fort of St. Augus-tine is very old, and the sea eats into it and does itmuch damage, because the fort is so near to it, a newfort should be built . . . providing that it beplaced one hundred feet farther back, away from thewater” . . .

The most unconquerable enemy of the colonistswas the ocean. A long while afterward, January 12,1600, Alonso de las Alas, one of the royal officials ofFlorida, wrote to the King: “When this country wassettled by the Adelantado, Pedro Menendez de Aviles,this presidio was for many years on the island oppo-site, at the entrance of the harbor. and was calledSant Agustin el Viejo. And because the sea ate awaya large part of the island where the town and fortwere situated it became necessary to remove it to theother side” (the mainland) . 15

As a result of that conversation of Florez and Men-endez Marques, Governor Marques constructed an-other fort the following year, 1579. “It is a goodpiece,” he wrote to the king, “although it has beenbuilt with much difficulty.” . It could not have beenvery substantial, because, in the summer of 1585, ayear before a thunderbolt was to burst over St. Augus-tine - the advent of Sir Francis Drake and his fleet-

15 Alonso de las Alas to Philip III, St. Augustine, January12, 1600. A. G. de I.. 54-5-14.

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Gutierre de Miranda wrote to Philip II: “Your Majes-ty may believe me [when I say] that it hurts my soulto see such neglect . . . for if any enemy shouldcome here he will destroy the fort without fail . . .as it is nothing more than a decaying wooden build-ing, apt to crumble any moment - a storehouse formice.” 16 Gutierre de Miranda knew more about thescience of fortification than his contemporaries inFlorida. The sixth fort of St. Augustine was begun early in1586. It was the first to be built on the mainlandand was called San Juan de Pinos - St. John of thePines. It was close to the site of the present fort,almost opposite St. Augustine Inlet. The new littletown grew up some distance south of it. Sir FrancisDrake burned both in June, 1586, when he capturedSt. Augustine.

Walter Bigges, a follower of Drake, thus portraysthe fort: “We found it built all of timber, the wallesbeing none other but whole mastes or bodies of treesset vppe right and close together in manner of a pale,without any ditch as yet made, but wholy intendedwith some more time, for they had not as yet finished

all their worke, hauing begun the same some three orfoure monethes before: so as to say the trueth theyhad no reason to keepe it, being subiect both to fireand easie assault.”

“The platforme whereon the ordinance lay waswhole bodies of long Pine trees, whereof there isgreat plentie, layed a crosse one on another, and somelittle earth amongst. There was in it thirteene orfourteene greate peeces of brasse ordinance, and achest vnbroken vp, hauing in it the value of some twothousande poundes sterling by estimation of the

16 Gutierre de Miranda to Philip II, St. Augustine, Aug-ust 8, 1585. A. G. de I., 54-5-16.

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Kinges treasure, to pay the souldiers of that place whowere a hundred and fiftie men.” 17

There is fortunately in existence Boazio’s remark-able map showing Drake’s attack on St. Augustine.This is perhaps the earliest picture of the town andfort, and for originality and wealth of detail cannotbe surpassed. 18

JEANNETTE THURBER CONNOR.

(This subject will be concluded in the next issue ofthe QUARTERLY.)

17 Bigges, Walter. A Summarie and True Discourse of SirFrancis Drake’s West Indian Voyage. London, 1589. The“brasse ordinance” was probably bronze. Brass is chiefly analloy of copper and zinc. “In its older use the term was ap-plied rather to alloys of copper and tin, now known as bronze.”-The Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. IV, p. 433.18 See frontispiece. It appears in Expeditio FranciscoDraki, Leyden, 1588, and in two of the three English editionsof Bigges’ A Summarie and True Discourse, etc., London, 1589.

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ENGLISH MAP OF TAMPA BAY, 1779.

(It is believed that this map was the first drawn of TampaBay from any kind of survey with soundings.)

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THE FIRST SPANISH-AMERICAN WARThis is a better title for a story of the disturbance

that occurred in Florida in 1812 than the one usuallygiven to it, viz: The Patriot War. The so-calledpatriots were nearly all citizens of the United Statesfrom Georgia and Tennessee. They were supportedby soldiers and gunboats of the United States. Theywere under the orders of an agent of the United Statesand were financed, by the United States. That theevents did not provoke a real war between Spain andthis country is only explained by the fact that Spainhad been drained of men and money by Napoleon andwas then fighting to rid herself of a Bonaparte ruler.

After the Louisiana Purchase our country lookedwith covetous eyes on Florida. At that time Floridaextended north to the thirty-first parallel and fromthe Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean. On theGulf its western limit was Lake Pontchartrain. TheFrench were the original settlers of the western part,and President Jefferson claimed that this belonged toLouisiana and that we acquired it with our purchaseof that territory.

On January 3rd, 1811, in a message to Congress,President Madison called the attention of that bodyto the desirability of acquiring Florida. 1 On the 15thof the month Congress passed a Joint Resolution inrelation to the occupation of Florida as follows:

“Taking into view the peculiar situation of Spainand her American provinces and considering the in-fluence which the destiny of the territory adjoiningthe southern border of the United States may haveupon their security, tranquility and commerce ; there-fore,

1 Supplemental Journal of H. of R. 1st Sess., 12th Congress.

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“Resolved ; that the United States under thepeculiar circumstances of the existing crisis cannot,without serious inquietude, see any part of the saidterritory pass into the hands of any foreign power;and that a due regard to their own safety compelsthem to provide, under certain contingencies, for atemporary occupation of the said territory: they atthe same time declare that the same territory shallin their hands, remain subject to future negotia-tion.“ 2

On the same day was passed “an act to enable thePresident of the United States, under certain contin-gencies, to take possession of the country lying east ofthe river Perdido and south of the State of Georgiaand the Mississippi Territory and for other purposes.”This meant all of Florida. 3

The first section authorized the President “to takepossession of all or any part in ease any arrangement ,has been made or shall be made with the local author-ity for delivering up the possession of the same orany part thereof to the United States ; or in the eventof an attempt to occupy the said territory or any partthereof by a foreign government and, in order to main-tain the authority of the United States therein, to em-ploy any part of the army or navy of the United Stateshe may deem necessary.”

Section two provided that one hundred thousanddollars be appropriated for defraying such expensesas the President shall deem necessary for obtainingpossession as aforesaid and for the security of saidterritory. Section three provided for setting up agovernment within the territory in case it should beobtained. It will be noticed that no claim is madein the resolution that the United States owned anypart of Florida.

2 Third Statutes at Large p. 471.3 Third Statutes at Large p. 472.

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On the 26th of January, 1811, instructions were is-sued by the Secretary of State to General George Mat-thews of Georgia and Colonel John McKee reciting thatthe President had appointed them “jointly and sev-erally commissioners for carrying into effect” theaforesaid act and directing them to “repair to thatquarter with all possible expedition, concealing fromgeneral observation the trust committed to you withthat discretion which the delicacy and importance ofthe undertaking require.“ 4 Apparently Colonel Mc-Kee did not act in the matter.

There is on record testimony in a damage suitthat the Patriot War was planned by General Matthewsin Georgia.

At that time the people of West Florida livingwest of the Pearl River had revolted from the ruleof Spain, had been organized as an independent com-munity, had asked to be annexed to the United Statesand were now a portion of Mississippi Territory. Theinstructions to General Matthews contained the follow-ing “should you find Governor Folk (Folch) or thelocal authority existing there inclined to surrenderin an amicable manner the remaining portion of WestFlorida, now held by him in the name of the Span-ish Monarch, you are to accept in the name of theUnited States, the abdication of his or other authorityand the jurisdiction over which it extends. If it shouldbe required and found necessary you may agree to ad-vance a reasonable sum for the transportation of theSpanish troops. Should there be room to entertain asuspicion that an attempt to occupy the country by aforeign power will‘ be made you will exercise withpromptness and vigor the power with which you areinvested by the President.

“The conduct you are to pursue in East Floridamust be regulated by the dictates of your own judg-

4 Niles Register, Sept. 12, 1812.

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ment on a close view and accurate knowledge of theprecise state of things there and of the Spanish gov-ernment. Should you discover an inclination in theGovernor of East Florida, or of the existing local au-thority, amicably to surrender the province to theUnited States you are to accept the same on the sameterms that are prescribed in these instructions in re-gard to West Florida.

“If in the execution of any part of these instruc-tions you should need the aid of a military forcethe same will be afforded you, and in case you shouldneed naval assistance you will receive the same. ThePresident, relying upon your discretion, authorizes youto draw upon the collectors of New Orleans and Savan-nah for such sums as may be necessary to defrayunavoidable expenses not exceeding in drafts on NewOrleans $8,000, and upon Savannah $2,000.”

In less than a month from the date of his appoint-ment Matthews appeared at St. Marys, a town uponthe American side of the St. Marys river which di-vided the two countries. Upon arriving there he metwith a severe disappointment. He wrote the Secre-tary of State on Feb. 25th saying “On my arrival hereI found the gentlemen whose names I gave you welldisposed but there has not a soldier arrived, or onearmed vessel, or a gunboat in this river and fromthis cause it is not proper to attempt anything atpresent. I leave here tomorrow morning for Mobileand from arrangements I have made I will return hereby the 20th of April at which time I hope to haveit in my power to carry the President’s wishes intoeffect. From the prospect of things here, East Flor-ida is growing of more importance to the United Statesevery day. There are now in the Spanish watershere twenty large vessels loading lumber for the Brit-ish government and eighty loaded the last year on thesame account. You can assure the President every

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exertion in my power will be made to carry his wishesinto effect.”

This letter plainly tells us that there had been pre-vious letters or conversations on the subject of acquir-ing East Florida.

The gentlemen whose names he had given to theSecretary of State were evidently too few in numberto warrant any effort without the support of the troopsand gunboats which he expected to find at St. Maryswhen he arrived there.

On May 14, 1811 he wrote the Secretary of Statefrom Fort Stoddert in Mississippi. On June 11 hewrote from Point Peter, a military post in Georgianear the border, and again on August 3rd from thesame place. In this letter he said “the inhabitantsof the Province are ripe for revolt; they are howeverincompetent to effect a thorough revolution withoutexternal aid. If two hundred stand of arms andfifty horsemen’s swords were in their possession I amconfident they would commence the business with afair prospect of success. These could be put intotheir hands by consigning them to the commanding of-ficer at this post subject to my order. This sectionof our Union is destitute of artillery ; to me it ap-pears that in the event of a revolution and a conse-quent surrendering of the country to us a corps willbe indispensable.”

On the 11th of March, 1812, Matthews asked Com-modore Campbell, then in the river with nine gun-boats, to furnish to the Patriots fifty muskets, fiftypistols and an equal number of swords. As the Com-modore obeyed other orders from Matthews he un-doubtedly furnished the arms. Matthews wrote theSecretary on March 14th that “Commodore Campbellhas furnished me every assistance in his power.” Inthe same letter he adds “The time has arrived, some-thing must be done, and if you ever expect the Floridas

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send on immediately the companies of artillery and in-fantry I have requested.”

On the same day he wrote Major Laval who wasin command of a small force of troops at Point Petersaying to him, “I am officially informed by the localauthorities of East Florida that they wish to surrenderthat portion of the province called Rose’s Bluff, beingabout four miles above St. Marys, to the United Statesand I have in my capacity as commissioner by virtueof powers vested in me, of which you are furnished acopy, to call on you to march a detachment of troopsconsisting of fifty men to take peaceable possession ofRose’s Bluff tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock for theUnited States and hold it for them.”

Major Laval refused to obey the order and on the16th made a report to the War department in whichhe said “It is very important that you should apprizethe President of the danger the United States are inof being involved in a war with Spain if the agentGeneral Matthews is allowed to proceed. He hasbroken the bounds of prudence. The Americans aretaking possession of East Florida by force throughhis advice. They expect to cover themselves with thenames of Patriots there being 8 or 10 of them

mixed with the force. They are about 60 or 70 de-luded militia. They take possession of places wherethere is no one to oppose them and declare such placesindependent. Gen. Matthews sees them, encouragesthem. The whole must fall upon the Government. Gen-ral Matthews never communicated with me on thesubject until two days before the patriots set out fromSt. Marys to repair from their rendezvous and maketheir first start.”

On the 15th General Matthews ordered Commo-dore Campbell to send one gunboat to Rose’s Bluff,two gunboats to be stationed above the town of Fer-

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nandina and such other gunboats as are in readinessopposite the town of Fernandina.

On the 16th and again on the 17th the Spanishpost at Fernandina was summoned to surrender. Onbeing threatened with firing by the gunboats theSpanish flag was lowered and the Patriot flag raisedon the 17th.

General Matthews wrote the Secretary of State onthe 21st saying, “Enclosed you have a letter from theconstituted authorities of East Florida requesting meas commissioner of the United States to take posses-sion of all that tract of country lying between the St.Marys and the St. Johns rivers including the islandsbetween the same which agreeably thereto was cededand surrendered to the United States through me onthe 18th instant.

“In consequence of Major Laval’s refusing to giveme any support and his extreme exertions to frus-trate my plans I was fearful they would be blasted;but as God would have it Lieut. Col. Smith arrivedthe day before the surrender of the patriots and hecheerfully gave me every support when requested totake peaceable possession, which was done on Wednes-day the 18th instant by fifty riflemen under the com-mand of Lieut. Appling.

“I have little reason to doubt had Major Lavalnot defeated my first plan by refusing me aid I wouldby this time have been able to have informed youof the cession of East Florida to the United States.But I hope in a few days to give you that agreeable in-telligence for the patriots have crossed the St. Johnsand are in a rapid march for St. Augustine and, Ithink, with a sufficient force to reduce it if properlysupported by Commodore Campbell.”

On the 28th of March General Matthews wrotethe Secretary of State giving this further account ofthe operations in the attempted capture of Florida.

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“I have received despatches of the 23rd instantfrom the patriots. They have assumed an organizedforce and have also addressed me officially assuringme that by the 25th the country would be theirs tothe walls of St. Augustine and they in readiness to cedeit peaceably to the United States. Col. Smith will pro-ceed forthwith to occupy, hold and defend the districtsceded to the United States. I have required the Com-modore to order round the Vixen and two gunboats,now in these waters, to lay and weigh off the bar ofSt. Augustine, to bring to, examine and detain all ves-sels bound in having troops or succors of any kind.

“Make my respects to the President and informhim that I hope so to complete my mission as to meethis unqualified approbation.”

On the 2nd of April General Matthews wrote Com-modore Campbell saying he had in behalf of the UnitedStates received from the patriots a cession of entireEast Florida except the town and fortress of St. Augus-tine and asking him to add another gunboat to theblockading squadron.

One gunboat had been sent up the St. Johns riverto Picolata which was evidently the army’s base, Onthe 8th of April General Matthews sent the followingletter to Lieutenant Colonel Smith the commander ofthe United States forces,

United States Station, PicolataApril 8th, 1812.

Dear Sir: By virtue of the powers vested in meas United States Commissioner with which you arefurnished a copy, I have to request that you march to-morrow or as soon thereafter as possible to MoosaOld Ford a military station in the vicinity of St. Augus-tine, with the troops under your command, to holdand defend the same, and -the country adjacent, it

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being ceded to the United States, by the local consti-tuted authorities of East Florida, and accepted by meas United States Commissioner. You will please tohave such detachment at this station to hold and de-fend it for the United States.”

On May 2nd Major Laval sent another letter tothe Secretary of War in which he said “The post-master at St. Marys and his sworn clerk are amongthe pretended patriots and only return, one or theother, on the mail day to do all the mischief they canby opening and destroying the letters of those whooppose their criminal plots. * * * Lieut. Col. Smithhas marched all the troops to East Florida and is nowat the head of the patriots. They are about a mileand a half from St. Augustine so that instead of thepatriots subduing the Spaniards it is unequivocally theUnited States troops.”

The three gunboats were sent to St. Augutine byCommodore Campbell as requested by General Mat-thews. The Commodore in his order to the officer incharge said “you will proceed with all possible dis-patch to St. Augustine and anchor within the bar asnear the fort as prudence may direct. * * * * TheUnited States troops near St. Augustine may requiresome assistance from you in which case you will com-municate with them through the North river.”

On April 4th the Secretary of State wrote GeneralMatthews revoking his appointment as commissioner.He wrote “I am sorry to state that the measures youappear to have adopted for gaining possession of Ame-lia Island and other parts of East Florida are notauthorized by the law of the United States or theinstructions founded on it under which you have acted* * * I add with pleasure that the utmost confidenceis reposed in ‘your integrity and zeal to promote thewelfare of your country, but in consequence of the

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course you have taken, which differs so essentiallyfrom that contemplated and authorized by the govern-ment, you will be sensible of the necessity of discon-tinuing the service in which you have been employed.”

General Matthews wrote in reply that if he feltjustified in exposing to public view his confidentialinstructions and conversations he had no doubt thatan impartial public would decide that he had notexceeded his powers.

On the 12th of April the Secretary of State wroteGovernor D. B. Mitchell of Georgia to succeed Gen-eral Matthews as a commissioner to represent theUnited States. He was advised that an order ‘hadbeen sent for the troops to evacuate Florida “when re-quested to do so by you” but he was not to do sountil the Spanish Governor had given assurance thatthe revolting citizens of Florida would not be pun-ished. He was to confer with the Spanish Governorand report the results, in the meantime holding theground occupied. It was not expected that he wouldinterfere to compel the patriots to surrender the coun-try or any part of it to the Spanish authorities.

On the 4th of May Governor Mitchell wrote Gov-ernor Estrada saying that the United States had notauthorized the late transactions in East Florida andhe “hastens to make the communication with the fullestconfidence that it will be received as an evidence of thefriendly disposition of the Government of the UnitedStates to that of Spain.”

The Spanish governor-replied that he had expectedthat the dismissal of General Matthews would befollowed by the removal of the troops and until thatstep was taken he refused to recognize any authorityother than that of Spain.

On May 16th Governor Mitchell wrote saying thatSt. Augustine was blockaded by the patriots and theyconsidered themselves as having been in possession

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of all the rest of the province before its transfer to theUnited States.

On June 12th the newly appointed Governor Ken-delan wrote Governor Mitchell complaining of the actsof the United States troops, adding “your excellencymust consider that my duty does not allow the con-tinuance of the said troops in the province under mycharge and if they do not withdraw I shall be obligedto take disagreeable) measures * * * * I invite your ex-cellency’s first step to be to withdraw from the Span-ish territory within eleven days.”

A few days before this letter was written a fewcannon balls from a Spanish schooner in the northriver had hustled the invaders out of Fort Moosato some three miles from St. Augustine.

In replying to Governor Kendelan’s vigorous let-ter Governor Mitchell showed that he was somewhatpeeved at having been obliged to leave Fort Moosaso suddenly. He wrote -

“This attack being made when I was proceedingto offer and had in part offered the most sincere andfriendly explanations on the part of the United Statesfor the part they had apparently taken in the latetransaction in East Florida precluded all further ef-forts on my part to continue the correspondence, be-lieving as I did that it was an indignity offered to thehonor and integrity of the government I represent.Under the impression which this transaction was cal-culated to produce and which you as a man of honor anda soldier readily conceive, I am., persuaded that you donot expect me either to withdraw the troops or to makeany proposition for that purpose until such explanationis given for the attack upon them * * * In the meantimeshould your excellency proceed, as you intimate youwill, to acts of hostility upon the United States troopsafter the expiration of eleven days from the date of

your letter, without having satisfied the just expecta-tions of the President as to the cause of the attack .upon them of which I have already spoken, be it so;I shall regret the circumstance but you alone will beanswerable for all the consequences which may resultfrom such a proceeding. I can make any sacrifice ofmy individual feeling when placed in competition withthe welfare and honor of my country, but the honorof the nation can never be called in question.”

A lengthy duel of words followed between the twogovernors which continued for about a month whenGovernor Mitchell wrote the Secretary of State say-ing he had remained because he expected an act wouldbe passed authorizing the President to take posses-sion of the unoccupied parts of the two Floridas. “Youmay judge of my surprise and mortification at theinformation I received by this evening’s mail thatthe Senate had rejected the bill which had been passedby the House for the purpose of authorizing the im-mediate occupancy of the provinces.” (On the 22ndof June, 1812, such a bill was passed by the House bya vote of 71 to 44. It failed in the Senate by a voteof 14 to 16.)

Governor Mitchell ordered reinforcements of twohundred militia from Savannah and left for Georgiain August, leaving the troops under the control ofLieutenant Colonel Smith after having drawn on thegovernment for the money he had expended. He neverreturned, altho his employment as commissioner con-tinued.

About the last of October affairs in East Floridawere placed in the hands of Major General ThomasPinckney the commander of the southern division ofthe army of the United States.

After being notified of the change, GovernorMitchell wrote that he had “endeavored to carry out

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the wishes of the President. That the President hasapproved my conduct upon the present occasion isthe utmost gratification I could receive. As I now con-sider my agency closed I have drawn for the valueof my account.”

The troops still remained in Florida. General Pinck-ney’s headquarters were at Charleston, S. C. GeneralPinckney wrote several letters to the Secretary of Warand to the Secretary of State. In them it is plainlyseen that he did not approve, as a citizen of theUnited States, of the seizure, but that as an officerhe was ready to follow the instructions of the Presi-dent. He wrote to the Secretary of State “the gen-eral purport of my instructions indicates the proba-bility of an attack upon St. Augustine. But Christ-mas has arrived and we are not in the state of prepa-ration I could wish.” On December 29th, 1812, hewrote “I am using every exertion to prepare for thesiege of St. Augustine as if the order had already beenissued * * *. My present impression is that weshall not be prepared to commence the siege beforethe middle of March.”

On March 18th the Spanish governor wrote thata decree of amnesty had been made for the benefitof those subjects of Spain who had revolted, providedthey were thenceforth faithful citizens.

This was followed by a proclamation signed by B.Harrison, President of the Legislative Council, Dan-iel S. Delaney, Secretary of State, and John H. Mc-Intosh, President of the Territory of East Florida,in which they spurned the offer of pardon and called“upon all to unite and by our joint action secure oursafety, property, liberty and independence”.

General Pinckney wrote to the Spanish governorasking if he were able and willing to carry out thedecree of amnesty. Upon receiving his reply that he

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would do so General Pinckney on the 7th of April, 1813,wrote the Spanish governor that the troops would bespeedily withdrawn from the province of East Florida.

On April 16th a final order was given to the com-manding officer to withdraw the troops and evacuateAmelia Island. He wrote “the removal of the troopsfrom East Florida is not to be considered in the lightof an evacuation of an enemy’s country but as restor-ing to a state of neutrality a territory which our Exec-utive deemed expedient to occupy.” General Pinckneywas justified in this statement as on Dec. 12th, 1812,he had received a letter from the Secretary of Statesaying to him “under existing circumstances therefore .the President thinks it due to the injured rights andinterests of the United States as well as to their honorto maintain the ground on which you stand.”

The last of the troops left Fernandina about May5th, 1813. It was occupied March 17, 1812.

By an act of Congress it was voted on Feb. 12th,1813, to take possession of West Florida west of thePerdido River.

General Pinckney in a letter to Secretary Monroewritten April 29th said “it would be advantageous forthe United States to purchase Florida from the Span-iards for much more than it would appear to be worth,as we would receive ample interest for the money ex-pended by the augmentation of our finances, the in-crease of our military force and the tranquility of aconsiderable portion of our country.”

There is one paper lacking in this record: theorder to General Pinckney to withdraw the troops inFlorida in opposition to the letter of Dec. 12th to“maintain the ground on which you stand.”

At this time Napoleon had been defeated in Rus-sia, civil war in Spain was ended, Spanish troops werebeing sent to the New World in an effort to retain

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the Spanish colonies, and we were at war with Eng-land, now Spain’s ally.

‘The army of Regulars and Irregulars appears tohave left nothing in Florida that could be carried awayor destroyed.

The treaty by which Spain ceded Florida to theUnited States without direct compensation to Spain,laid two obligations upon the United States. One wasto pay claims of the citizens of the United Statesagainst Spain for one hundred and ninety-one Amer-ican vessels seized by Spain while at war with Eng-land. The amount of these claims was found to bein excess of the agreed $5,000,000 and they were re-bated to that amount and paid. The other duty was tosatisfactorily settle with the citizens of Florida andwith Spanish officers for damages done by the invasionof the United States army. By acts passed in 1823and 1834 Florida judges were to settle the amount ofthese claims. Their awards carried interest at five percent. The United States Treasurer paid the awardsamounting $1,224,992.68 but refused to pay the inter-est which amounted to as much more. 5

For fifty years the “Florida Claims” were fre-quently before Congress in an attempt to collect thisinterest. In 1860 two attorneys filed a brief withCongress upon this subject 6. The letters quotedin this paper were found in this pamphlet, a copyof which is in the Library of Congress. In 1879 Pres-ident Hayes called the attention of Congress to theseclaims in a message to that body. 7 The last time they

5 Cong. Globe, 1860, p. 1254.6 Secret acts, resolutions and instructions under which Flor-ida was invaded by the United States Troops.Cooper and Charles E. Sherman. Washington, 1860. 71 p.7Senate Ex. Doc. No. 101, 46th Cong. 2nd Sess. Vol. 4.

For additional references see Niles Register, vols. 3 and 4;Executive Documents for the years 1811, 1812, 1813; House andSenate journals 1811 and 1812.

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were presented to congress appears to have been in1880.

I am aware that this story is not a satisfactory one.I have given facts and not opinions. No aid is neces-sary to form certain conclusions in regard to the courseof our government. The United States was well pun-ished for its attempt to wrongfully acquire East Flor-ida by force of arms.

A. H. PHINNEY.

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FEDERAL RAID ON TAMPA BAY1 Key West, Fla., Oct. 23, 1863.

On the twelfth instant, the United States gun-boat Tahoma, Lieutenant-Commander Semmes, afterthree months’ repairing and preparation, and takingon board a two-hundred-pound Parrott rifle, left herefor Tampa Bay, arriving on the evening of the thir-teenth, where she found the United States steamerAdela, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Stodder, andschooners Stonewall Jackson and Ariel, blockading.

The next morning both steamers started up forTampa, the county seat of Hillsborough County, stand-ing at the head of Tampa Bay. The town is defendedon the water-side by a battery of five-guns, built onone end of the United States parade ground, and for-merly called Fort Brooke, used during the war withthe Indians. To the right of this are the United Statesdocks and warehouses, now occupied by the rebels asbarracks. Behind these are some blacksmith and ma-chine shops, used by the rebel army, and also for fit-ting out blockade-runners.

Before going far the Tahoma’s engine gave out,causing a delay until the next morning. On the fif-teenth they continued on their way, the Tahoma tak-ing the lead, and the Adela following. While crawl-ing along shore, off Gadson’s Point, looking for a bat-tery reported to be there, the Tahoma got agroundthree times, and was hauled off after some troubleand breaking of hawsers by the Adela. In the after-noon the Tahoma’s engine again broke down, and theAdela started with her in tow, when her engine alsogave out. On the sixteenth, the Adela being againin order, the Tahoma was lashed alongside, and towedinto position before Tampa, where she came to anchor

1 Moore’s Rebellion Record, Vol. VII. New York, 1864.

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as near the battery as she could get. The Adela beingof much lighter draft, cast loose, ran up nearer theworks and opened on them, throwing shell after shellinto the battery, barracks, and buildings adjoining.Captain Semmes, after going out in a small boat andplanting stakes with flags attached, as if preparing toland on left side of bay, returned to ship, and openedfire from his pivot, and twenty-pound Parrotts, theshell from both vessels making dirt and splinters fly,driving the men from the works, and the people fromthe town.

In the evening forty picked men from the Adela -fifteen from the Engineer’s division, under Chief-En-gineer Bennett; fifteen from the First division ofriflemen, under Acting-Ensign Strandberg; ten fromSecond division, under Acting-Ensign Balch ; and six-ty men from the Tahoma; thirty from the First di-vision, under Acting-Ensign Kaeler; thirty fromSecond division, under Acting-Ensign Randall ;the whole under command of Acting-MasterH a r r i s , executive officer of the Tahoma, an-swered to their names on the deck of the Tahoma. Shethen got under way, manoeuvred about the bay, mak-ing feints of landing at several places, then ran somemiles down the bay, and at ten P.M., landed them atGadson’s Point, on the right-hand shore ; the boatsall returning to the ship, with the exception of onewhich the party carried with them. At three and ahalf A.M. of the seventeenth, they had made less thanone-half the distance necessary to travel before sun-rise, and were much fatigued by dragging a heavy boatfor some miles through swamps and thick underbrush,The boat becoming too much stove for use, was thrownin the bushes, the party pushing on and arriving nearthe bank of Hillsboro River, six miles above Tampa,at Six A.M. There they divided into squads, each ap-

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proaching the river by a different route to preventcommunication with the troops below. Acting-EnsignBalch and men were the first to reach the river, where,near the opposite bank, lay the steamer Scottish Chief,loaded with one hundred and fifty-six bales of cotton,and also the sloop Kate Dale, with eleven bales. Hehailed some men moving about the steamer, and or-dered his men to cover them with their rifles, gavethem three minutes to lower their boat to come overafter him, which they immediately did. Turning themout, and leaving them prisoners under a guard ashore,he took possession of the boat, taking six men withhim, boarded the steamer, capturing all on board, andinforming the Captain that he took possession in thename of the United States Government. When therest of the party arrived, the vessel was ready forfiring. The order having been given, he started a firein her fore-hold. The sloop was served in the sameway, and in a few minutes from the time of first see-ing the vessels, the whole object of the expeditionwas accomplished, and the party started on their wayback by a more direct route to the bay, making shorthalts for rest, and carrying some of their number whogave out on the road. One of the Tahoma’s men be-came so exhausted that, by his own request, he was leftbehind, after being carried some miles through swampand bushes. When within a mile of the shore, smallsquads of rebel troops were seen dodging about inthe scrub ahead, at first in squads of five or six,then by eight, ten, fifteen, until when near the beacha sharp fire was opened on the advance scouts. Themain body coming up scattered them in all directions,and, taking a number of prisoners, the line of marchwas continued to the beach, down the beach to nearlyopposite where the Adela lay aground. Here theymade signal for boats and came to a halt, first throw-

ing out pickets to prevent a surprise. So exhaustedwere some of the men that they would sink down any-where, and would rather die than go further. TheAdela, on seeing them, fired a lee gun, and madesignals to the Tahoma, which, with all the boats withher, lay aground on the opposite side of the bay, somemiles from them. On seeing the Adela’s signals, shesent the boats after them in charge of an Acting Mas-ter’s Mate.

In the mean time some horsemen had been seenflying about through the woods, as if arranging mat-ters, while others were seen dodging about behind treesand bushes, and apparently planting themselves ina half circle about them. Not appearing in any forceor showing any disposition to make an attack, oneof the men was sent out to half his depth in thewater. When the boats got to him they were turnedabout. Acting-Master Harris ordered all, except theTahoma’s First division, to embark. No sooner hadthey got in the water some distance than the con-cealed enemy began to close up from all sides, andopened a rapid fire on them. Acting-Ensign Strand-berg’s division had not yet left. These faced aboutwith the Tahoma’s First division, charged on theenemy, and compelled them again to seek refuge in thebushes. Captain Harris ordered the remainder to taketo the boats, which were now some quarter of a mileout. Before they had got half way out, a fire wasopened on them from the bushes along the beach forthe space of a mile, and from some light artillery masked among the bushes. A party of riflemen andcavalry, before unseen, came around from behind abuilding below them, charged up the beach with a yell,some of the horsemen riding along into the water, tocut them to pieces as they got into the boats. The Adelawas the first to see this movement. Having but one

gun that would reach, she opened on the advancing . .column, Captain Stodder himself sighting the gun, andmaking some splendid shots, bursting shell among thehorsemen, compelling most of them to put back andgo around through the woods. This with the fire fromthe boats, and from those in the water, kept the rebelsin check until all the boats got off, bringing the prison-ers with them. Orders were given to turn back andcapture the guns, and fight it out, when it was discov-ered that in wading and swimming to the boats, nearlyall the arms and ammunition had become wet anduseless ; the project was therefore abandoned, theboats returning to their ships Shortly after the Adelagot off and ran over to the place of conflict, and openedon the rebels, driving them up toward Tampa. OnSunday, the eighteenth, Captain Semmes sent in aflag of truce to ascertain what had become of our miss-ing men. From what we can gather, the Tahomalost one man, James World, killed. Acting-EnsignRandall, and six men wounded, and two men, Collinsand Hilton, taken prisoners. The Adela lost two men, Roddy and O’Donnald, killed, five men wounded; oneman, Donnelly, taken prisoner. The rebels lost sixkilled, a number wounded, and seven taken prisoners.

On the night of the sixteenth the citizens of Tampaheld a crowded meeting in the courthouse, for the pur-pose of forming a military company, and electing a cap-tain. Had Captain Semmes known it while they wereballoting, he would have sent them several two hun-dred-pound black-balls, which they would not havestopped to count.

Some time after the boats had returned, a headwas seen projecting above water at some distance fromland, while a party of rebels were on the beach fir-ing at it, and calling out for the man to come on shore.A boat was sent in charge of Acting-Ensign Garman,

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to ascertain who the head belonged to, when it wasfound to belong to the pilot of the Tahoma, who hadwaded out up to his neck in water, determined ratherto drown than be taken prisoner. He was nearly deadfrom exhaustion.

Among the trophies were some cartridges. In placeof balls there are twelve large buckshot or pistol-ballswrapped up in cloth. Some of our men were woundedwith these, Doctor Gale, of the Adela, took from oneof the wounded a home-made lead ball weighing fourounces. The wounded were taken to a Governmentbuilding near the light-house, on Egmond Key, andleft in charge of Doctor Gunning, of the Tahoma. Cap-tain Westcott, commander of the post, (rebel,) andformerly of the United States Army, and representa-tive from Florida, said that as our men who died onshore fought so bravely, they intended to give themthe best funeral they could get up. The Adela raiseda purse of one hundred and eight dollars and sent itto one of these men - Donoly, who is a prisoner. TheTahoma also sent money to these men to pay their waywhile traveling in Dixie. Most of the rebels engagedin this fight were old Indian hunters, who bushwhackedwith the Indians but a few years ago, and beat themat their own game.

From the flag of truce and the prisoners taken,we learned many incidents connected with the -fight.As the steamer approached the town, one of the gar-rison at the fort asked the others: ‘What are thosetwo large steamers coming up here for?’ The othersanswered : “They are coming here after oysters ; Ithink you will soon see them throwing their shellsover this way.”

One of the Tahoma’s mammoth shells entered ahouse, and burst ; one of the pieces, weighing. aboutforty pounds, swept the dinner-table, at which sat Miss

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Crane, daughter of formerly Colonel Crane, of thearmy, now an Acting Master’s Mate on the Tahoma.

Our party were surprised on receiving a chargefrom so large a body of cavalry, not knowing that therewere any in the place. The way in which this happenedwas this : A party of fifty cavalry had been sent aboutthe country to pick up cattle and send them to Bragg’sarmy ; these by chance arrived at Tampa on theday of the bombardment, and (as they say) eagerlytook a hand in the sport.

The light field-pieces used in the woods were madein Tampa, by the rebels, by boring out an engineshaft.

The ruse deguerre of Captain Semmes succeededperfectly. The rebs watched him putting down thestakes near the southern entrance, guessed its mean-ing, and in the evening posted a strong body of menin the woods, ready to annihilate any party attempt-ing to land there. The smoke from the burning ves-sels gave them the first notice that we had landed onthe opposite side and given them the slip.

Yours, PHOENIX.

United States Flag-ship San Jacinto,Key West, October 24, 1863.

Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy:Sir: I have to report the destruction of the block-

ade - running steamer Scottish Chief and the sloop KateDale, in Hillsborough River, by an armed expeditionfrom the United States gunboats Tahoma and Adela.

Having learned that these vessels were loadingwith cotton and about to sail, and being apprehensivethat by reason of their light load and draft they wouldescape the blockading vessel, I sent Lieutenant Com-mander Semmes to Tampa Bay to destroy them. It wasplanned between myself and Captain Semmes that he

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should, with the Tahoma, assisted by the Adela, divertattention from the real object of the expedition byshelling the fort and town, and that, under cover of thenight, men should be landed at a port on old TampaBay, distant from the fort, to proceed overland to theport on the Hillsborough River, where the blockade-runners lay, there to destroy them.

The plan was successfully carried out, but notwithout considerable loss.

On the 16th instant the Tahoma and Adela ranin abreast of the batteries and shelled them slowly dur-ing the day. The firing was in an unusual degree ac-curate and precise. At dark, as soon as the moon wentdown, a force--consisting of Acting-Ensigns J. P.Randall and J. G. Kochler, with sixty men from theTahoma, and of Acting-Ensigns Stomberg and Balch,and First Assistant-Engineer Bennett, with forty menfrom the Adela, and Acting Master’s Mate Crane andMr. J. A. Thompson, guides-was landed at BallastPoint.

The expedition was under the immediate commandof Acting-Master T. R. Harris, executive officer of theTahoma. The line of march was quietly taken up for

the river, under the guidance of Mr. J. A. Thomp-son, who, being too ill to walk, was borne in a litter.A march of fourteen miles (rendered circuitous bythe necessity of avoiding houses, creeks, etc.,) broughtthe party before daylight to the river-bank. As soonas it was light the vessels were discovered on the op-posite bank. The force was, therefore, moved to apoint opposite where they lay, and those on boardbrought under aim of the rifles and ordered to senda boat, which they did. A detachment was thereuponsent to bring over the vessels and to make prisonersof those on board.

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At this time two men succeeded in escaping fromthe vessels, who carried the alarm to the garrison.The vessels, meantime, were fired effectually, and theforce thereupon set out upon its return. Encounter-ing an armed party near the beach, a charge wasmade and two rebels made prisoners. The beach,finally, was safely reached without loss, and picketswere stationed and the party rested, waiting the ar-rival of the boats then being despatched from the Ta-homa and the Adela. While so resting, word wasbrought that a detachment of cavalry and one of in-fantry were advancing. The party was formed to re-sist an attack, and, the boats having arrived, the em-barkation commenced.

While this was proceeding the rebels opened fire.The First and Second divisions, with seven prisoners,proceeded in an orderly manner to the boats, and theThird division, spread out that the rebels might notfire into a mass, returned the fire energetically andwith great coolness and bravery. The Adela mean-time shelled the woods (in which the rebels were con-cealed, and from which they fired) with shrapnel.The First and Second divisions having embarked, therear-guard, on receiving the order to do so, followed.This rear-guard stood nobly to their post, protectingthe retreat under an extremely severe fire from a con-cealed enemy, loading and firing with the coolness oftarget practice, and finally leaving quietly at theword of command, bearing with them their wounded.

The rebels were under the command of Captain(a son of the late United States Senator) Westcott,and were so-called “regulars.”

The retreat to the boats was admirably conductedby Acting-Master Harris. The expedition throughoutwas characterized by a disciplined courage on the partof both officers and men. The force suffered severely

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at the beach, and both courage and discipline werecalled for. Our loss was as follows:

Killed - James Warrall, seaman, Tahoma ; JohnRoddy, seaman, Adela ; Joseph O’Donnell, seaman,Adela.

Ten were wounded, including Acting-Ensign Ran-dall and Kochler, and two seriously. Five were madeprisoners.

In reporting these losses, Lieutenant-CommanderSemmes observes :

“I regret seriously our loss, yet I feel a great de-gree of satisfaction in having impressed the rebelswith the idea that blockade-running vessels are notsafe even up the Hillsborough River.”

I am respectfully, your obedient servant,THEODORUS BAILEY,

A. R. Admiral, Commanding E. G. B. Squadron.

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THE OCCUPATION OF PENSACOLA BAY,1689-1700Part III

The second French invasion of the Gulf region.On the morning of January 26, 1699, a fleet of ves-sels arrived before the entrance to the harbor atSanta Maria de Galve (Pensacola), and announced itspresence by firing five cannon shots. A dense fogprevented the ships from being clearly perceived fromshore, and, fearing that they might attempt some hos-tile move under cover of the fog, Arriola replied tothe salute by firing three shots charged with ball. Atthe same time he gave orders for a boat to go forthto reconnoiter the strangers. The squadron was foundto consist of five vessels, three of them being largefrigates, and two small ketches. As the mist clearedaway before the morning sun, they could be plainlyseen anchored at the entrance to the channel sometwo leagues away. The flag of France was flying inthe breeze. The Spanish colors were immediatelyhoisted on the unfinished fort, and preparations madeto resist the expected attack. The presidio was placedin the best possible state of defence, the two vesselsin the harbor were made ready for action, and menwere stationed at possible landing points. One ofthe vessels, having no guns, was converted into a fireship. Arriola assumed command of the meager navalforces, while Martinez was entrusted with the de-fense of the presidio. All of the recently apprehendeddeserters were pardoned in order that they might as-sist in the approaching battle. The rest of the day,however, passed without incident.

At sunrise of the following day the flagship of theFrench squadron fired a blank shot, to which Arriola

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replied in like manner, and a launch put forth forthe presidio. In order to present as formidable an ap-pearance as possible all the soldiers were stationed attheir posts, care being taken to conceal their half-naked condition by arranging them so that only theirheads could be seen over the parapets. Arriola re-

‘, ceived the launch on the beach, allowing only the en-voy and one companion to land. The visitors werethen escorted to headquarters, where all the officerswere assembled. After the usual courtesies had beenexchanged, the emissary delivered a message from hiscommander-in-chief, the Marquis de Chasteaumorant.The latter sent word that he had come at the commandof the king of France to reconnoiter the coast of theGulf of Mexico, and to drive out certain Canadianadventurers who were said to have taken refuge inthat region. He asked permission to enter the bay inorder to obtain shelter for his ships, as well as tosecure fuel and water for the return voyage to France.He trusted that this request would be granted in viewof the friendly relations then existing between Spainand France. If the Spaniards were in need of provi-sions, he would be glad to supply them with anythingthey might desire from the ships under his command.The envoy obligingly gave full details concerning thesize and strength of the squadron. The flagship,named the Francois, carried fifty-eight guns; thesecond ship, the Marin, had thirty-eight guns ; thethird, the Badine, had thirty-two ; and the two ketches,six guns each.

Arriola drew up a reply to the French commanderin which he complimented that officer in most ex-travagant Spanish fashion but expressed his regret atbeing unable to accede, to the request that had beenmade. He had strict orders from his king, he said,to prevent any foreign vessel from entering the bay.

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In view of the good harmony then prevailing betweenthe two crowns, however, he would send his sergeant-major, with a good pilot, to assist in anchoring thevessels at a safer place along the coast, where theywould be able to secure the wood and water for thecontinuation of their voyage.

Francisco Martinez, a pilot, and several other menaccordingly returned with the emissary to the flag-ship, where they were royally entertained by theFrench. They learned that the expedition consistedof one thousand men, all splendidly equipped, with alarge number of cattle and horses, and abundant sup-plies of all kinds. The two smaller vessels were keptsecluded at a considerable distance away. The Span-iards were told that these vessels were captured cor-sairs, which had been taken off the coast of Cuba,but Martinez thought that they contained women andchildren destined for the founding of a colony. Hewas asked many questions in regard to the Gulf, es-pecially about the Palizada, San Bernardo, the RioBravo, and Panuco, but gave his hosts little informa-tion, beyond stating that all of those places wereshallow and uninviting. 1

The verbal request made through his envoy hav-ing been refused, Chasteaumorant wrote a formal let-ter to Arriola, again asking leave to enter the bay.This fetter read as follows:

Sir : The officer whom I sent to you has doubt-less acquainted you with the reasons for which mymaster, the king of France, has ordered me to thesecoasts. For my own part, I greatly appreciate thecompliments with which you honor me, and shouldlike to have an opportunity of showing my apprecia-tion. The necessity of procuring wood and waterobliges me to recur to the aid of Your Lordship. I

1 Martinez to the governor of Havana, Feb. 21, 1699.

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therefore entreat you to allow the vessels of the kingto enter that port in order that they may be shelteredin case of bad weather. As soon as we can supplyour needs, we shall begin our return voyage to France.The good union existing between the two crownsshould induce you to grant this request. Moreover, Ipledge. you my word that not a man shall go ashoreexcept with your permission, and that there will beno trading except as you desire. I am, very sincerely,Monseigneur, your most humble and obedient servant,

The Marquis de Chasteaumorant.Arriola replied to this second appeal in the follow-

ing words: ,My Dear Sir: I could not better manifest the es-

teem in which I hold Your Lordship’s person than bythe letter which I wrote you in order to assure youof my friendship, and of my desire to serve you as faras may be within my power. It grieves me exceeding-ly that I am not able to grant the request which YourLordship was pleased to communicate to me throughyour emissary, the Ship-Lieutenant, and now repeatin your letter . . . . since I have express ordersfrom my king and master (may God guard him) toprevent the entrance of any foreign vessels whatso-ever. In view of this, and since Your Lordship under-stands with what exactness such sovereign ordersmust be obeyed, you will not consider me discourteousif I confess that my hands are tied ; and that, justas Your Lordship tries to serve your king, so I shouldstrive to fulfill scrupulously what my master com-mands me to do. Nevertheless, in view of the courtesydue a person of Your Lordship’s rank, and of the per-fect union now existing between the two crowns, Ioffer to furnish you with wood and water throughthe labors of my own men, in case you do not findit convenient to use your own at the point immediate-

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ly opposite the place where you are anchored, as Ihave given you to understand through the Lieutenantand my Sergeant-Major. I have also sent a pilot withorders to remove the ships to a safe position on thecoast . . . . . . It thus appears that I have observed

the laws of good faith and correspondence. I canfrankly and in all amity assure Your Lordship that,according to the reports of the size of your vessels,there is not sufficient depth for them to enter the

bay. If Your Lordship or any officer wishes to land,you will be received and entertained as well as thelimited resources of this region will permit. I pro-test against any action beyond that which I have of-fered to concede. I shall consider any other measuresas a manifest infraction of the peace secured at suchgreat cost, and shall be obliged to defend myself inorder not to violate the instructions of my king andmaster as specified above. I am at Your Lordship’sservice, with all good will and desire to assist youto the utmost of my ability. May God protect YourLordship many and happy years. Bay of Santa Maria deGalve, January 26, 1699. I kiss Your Lordship’s hand,your most affectionate servant, Andres de Arriola. 2

On the morning of the 29th the boats from theFrench ships were observed to be engaged in sound-ing the channel. Arriola at once sent an officer toorder them to retire. The leader answered in goodSpanish that they would obey, and the sounding partyimmediately returned to the ships. Upon receipt ofArriola’s second letter, a council of war was held onthe flag-ship, and it was evidently decided not totarry longer at Santa Maria de Galve. Chasteaumo-rant wrote a farewell missive to Arriola, announcingthat he would proceed to carry out the orders ofhis king for the extermination of pirates in the Gulf.

2 This correspondence is enclosed with a letter of Arriolato the king, dated May 9, 1699.

He could not refrain, ‘he said, from protesting againstthe inhospitality of the Spaniards during a time ofpeace, when Spanish ships would be cordially wel-comed in any port belonging to France. He appreci-ated, however, the courtesy with which he had beentreated. On the 30th the squadron took its departure,and was lost to view on the western horizon. 3

Such was the nature of the first encounter betweenSpanish forces and the Iberville expedition, for such,of course, was the identity of the squadron which hadappeared at Pensacola.

As soon as the French squadron had departed, Ar-riola called a council of his officers to discuss the sit-uation. The flimsy falsehoods of the visitors had de-ceived no one. It was clear to all that the French hadcome fully prepared to found a colony in the Gulf re-gion. It was supposed that since they had foundPensacola already occupied, they would seek a suit-able location further west. Arriola believed that ifthey did not settle at Mobile Bay, they would explorethe Rio de la Palizada, and probably establish them-selves at San Bernado Bay, which he thought to beidentical with the place called “Mississippi”. In thecouncil of war, Arriola submitted three questions, firstas to the advisability of sending a boat to observethe movements of the French ; second, as to whetherArriola should remain at Pensacola, or embark atonce for Mexico, to secure needed supplies and navalforces to prevent the French from accomplishing theirdesigns ; third, any general suggestions for defensewere invited. The officers were unanimously opposedto sending a vessel in pursuit of the squadron. Therecould be no doubt as to the intentions of the French,the vessel would only be captured, and valuable time

3 The preceding account is based on a number of letterswritten by the officers at Pensacola: Arriola to the viceroy,Feb. 20, 1699, Martinez to the viceroy, Jan. 31, etc.

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lost in giving the alarm. With one exception allthe members of the Junta urged Arriola to leave atonce for Mexico and make a personal appeal to theviceroy for supplies and reinforcements. 4 In accord-ance with the resolution of the council-a resolutionwhich, we may be sure, was entirely in harmony withthe wishes of the commanding officer - Arriola sailedfor Vera Cruz on February 2, leaving Francisco Mar-tinez in charge of the garrison and presidio.

Arriola arrived in New Spain during a period ofgreat excitement, for it had been learned that a largenumber of Scotch settlers were planning to found acolony on the Isthmus of Darian. This effectually

destroyed any chances that Arriola might have hadfor obtaining prompt relief for the two hundred andsixty men he had left at Pensacola, or for securingnaval forces with which to expel the French from theGulf region. He was asked to submit a report set-ting forth the needs of the presidio. He stated thathe had left provisions enough to last only until theend of May, and that supplies of all kinds were sorelyneeded. He drew up a list of the most urgent necessi-ties for a period of four months and asked that theybe sent as soon as possible. On account of the labori-ous nature of the work in which the soldiers were com-pelled to engage, he requested one hundred additionalmen to supply the places of those who had died orwere unfit for service. 5 By decree of March 28 theviceroy had ordered Arriola’s recommendations to becarried out, adopting the fiscal’s suggestions that thenew men could be conscripted from the gamblinghouses and jails. Several months were to pass, how-ever, before these orders were executed. Preparationsfor the Darian expedition to expel the Scotch ab-

4 These opinions are given in Testimonio de Autos ejecuta-dos.

5 Ynforme de Arriola, March 14, 1699.

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sorbed the attention of the officials, and not untilMay was definite action taken in regard to the largerproblems connected with Pensacola.’ A junta generalof the 18th of that month was devoted to a consider-ation of the Pensacola question. In spite of the adversereports of Arriola, Franck, and most of the officersof the garrison, it was decided that the only possiblecourse to follow would be to hold the bay until theking should give orders for its abandonment. Arri-ola was continued in chief command of the presidio,much to his disappointment. In order to clear up anydoubts in regard to the French he was ordered toundertake another extensive exploration of the wholeGulf region as soon as he should return to his post. 7

Rumors of English settlement on the Gulf coast.On February 8 Martinez sent a pilot and four men toMobile Bay to learn if the French squadron was stillthere. No ships were seen, but evidence was obtainedthat the French had visited the bay. At one place anumber of pines had been cut down and a cross hadbeen erected bearing an inscription that could not bedeciphered. From this time on, the French scareseems to have subsided to a considerable degree, butin its stead came the fear of a still more formidableenemy, the English.

6 In the meantime, Arriola’s stay was enlivened by a con-troversy with Siguenza. As a result of the unfavorable re-ports which Arriola had spread concerning Pensacola Bay,the old professor accused him of neglect of duty, and of gen-eral misrepresentation of conditions at the new post. OnApril 6 Arriola addressed a letter to the viceroy complainingof Siguenza’s accusations and asking that the matter be set-tled for once and all by a joint expedition to be made by him-self and Siguenza. He offered to pay all expenses of the voy-age, so that his reputation for veracity might be vindicated.The fiscal thought Arriola’s proposition a fair one and thoughtthat Siguenza should be ordered to accompany Arriola on thevoyage. Siguenza was in failing health, however, and askedto be excused from the mission. The old scholar died in thefollowing year.7 Junta general of May 18, 1699.8 Jordan to the governor of Havana, Feb. 15, 1699.

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On April 22 a number of Panzacola Indians ar-rived at Santa Maria de Galve and reported that someof their people had seen six ships in a bay (ensenada)between the Palizada River and Mobile, about fivedays’ journey from the presidio. Some of the menfrom the vessels had landed to treat with the natives.They wore furlined caps and carried red flags. Fromthe descriptions given by the Indians, Martinez came atonce to the conclusion that the strangers were English,and resolved to send a few men in a canoe to investi-gate the matter. They were to leave the canoe atMobile, and continue their journey on foot until theships were discovered. The party was able to gono further than Mobile. The bay was reconnoitered,but no trace of foreigners was found, save for the crossthat had been left by the French.

Conditions at Pensacola were now too critical forMartinez to make further efforts to clear up the rum-ors brought by the Indians. The garrison was prac-tically on the verge of starvation. In response to anurgent appeal for aid, the governor of Havana dis-patched a vessel with provisions early in April, butsufficient only to last one month. The men ‘werereduced to famine rations. Many died from lack ofnourishing food and proper medical attention. Sev-eral went stark mad. The clothing of the troops had’fallen into rags. Their faces had become blackenedfrom sitting around the pine-knot fires until theybore little resemblance to human beings. To makethe situation more intolerable, a mutiny broke outon the part of Jordan and his men, which was quelledonly through the intercession of Franck, who arrangeda compromise. Jordan was allowed to maintain aseparate command. He posted his own sentinels andkept entirely aloof from the rest of the company under

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Martinez. 9 As the days went by and no relief camefrom Mexico, the exiles began to fear that Arriola’sship had been lost. It was finally decided that the ves-sel which had arrived from Havana should be sentto Vera Cruz to report the miserable state of the com-pany, as well as to transport the incapacitated men,who had merely become a useless burden. Some eightyof the sick and dying were placed on board. Just be-fore the vessel sailed an incident occurred which wasregarded as further corroboration of the reports thathad been received regarding the English settlement.On May 2 two English sailors arrived at the presidioin a small boat, claiming that they had been ship-wrecked off the Florida coast while en route fromJamaica to New England. Martinez was convincedthat they were bound for the new settlement. Themen denied any knowledge of a town to the westward,but admitted that there was an English colony calledSantiago (Jamestown) not far from Pensacola. Mar-tinez drew up a full report in regard to the dan-ger from the English, and resolved to send the twoprisoners to Mexico for further examination. Thevessel sailed on May 4, and reached Vera Cruz onMay 20, the dispatches from Martinez being forward-ed immediately to the viceroy. 10

The fiscal, Baltasar de Tobar, rendered his opinionon June 5. He had been one of the advocates of im-mediate offensive measures against the French, andat once came to the conclusion that the ships toldof by the Indians were not English, as Martinez be-lieved, but that they undoubtedly belonged to the verysquadron which had visited Pensacola. He asked theviceroy to take immediate steps to carry out the king’s

9 Franck gives an interesting account of this mutiny in aletter to the governor of Havana, May 15, 1699,

10 Martinez to the viceroy, May 4, 1699; Franck to thegovernor of Havana, May 15, 1699; Martinez to the same, etc.

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orders to protect the region from the encroachmentsof the French. 11

The Count of Monctezuma was still skeptical, how-ever, and refused to consent to the adoption of anymeasures that would interfere with the success of theDarian expedition. He believed that the explorationwhich Arriola had already been authorized to makewould set at rest all rumors concerning French andEnglish settlements on the Gulf coast. In lengthy dis-patches of July 12 and 14 Monctezuma informed theking of all developments up to that time. He recom-mended the maintenance of the presidio at SantaMaria de Galve, in spite of the adverse reports thathad been made against it. While the new post wouldnot benefit the colonies in a positive way, it would ob-viate great evils which would be sure to follow itsoccupation by the French ; for, although the bay wasuninviting and incapable of being fortified, it wouldfurnish the French a good base from which they wouldbe able to paralize the commerce of the Indies.

Plans for an offensive expedition against the Eng-lish, and the discovery of the French settlement atBiloxi. While the authorities of New Spain had beendiscussing important questions of state, the garrisonof San Carlos de Austria had continued its hand-to-mouth existence. The failure of the viceroy to sendsupplies had made it necessary for Martinez to makeanother appeal to Havana in the latter part of May.A prompt response had been given, but the qualityand quantity of the provisions sent were far fromwhat had been expected? 12 The men were forced tosupplement their meager rations by acorns and roots,

11 Respuesta fiscal, June 5, 1699. The Englishmen werelater released.

12 Testimo de los autos fhos sobre dar su ssa; prouidenciade Bastimentos Para la Nueba Poblacion de Sancta Maria deGalue allias Pensacola, etc., accompanying letter of DiegoCordoba Laso de la Vega to the king, Oct. 10, 1699.

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which only increased the sickness and misery. OnAugust 15 another cargo of patients was sent to Mex-ico, in charge of Juan Jordan, whose departure re-moved a long-standing source of dissension. At thistime were sent letters by Martinez, Franck and Jordan,telling of continued and unmistakable evidence of theexistence of the English settlement. The repeated dec-larations of the Indians, the passage of various boatsthat were undoubtedly bound for the new town con-firmed the early reports. The site of the settlement,as nearly as could be determined, was said to be abouteighty leagues west of Pensacola, on the mainland op-posite the Cayos de San Diego. 13

The vessel reached Vera Cruz on September 17.One of the first to receive the news it brought was Ar-riola, who was now making active preparations forhis return to Pensacola. He lost no time in sendingin suggestions for the expulsion of the English, andurged that an expedition be sent against them beforethey had time to strengthen their fortifications. Ina junta general of October 29, it was ordered that Ad-riola should be ordered to sail at once for Pensacola,and undertake the expulsion of the English. He wasfurnished with a small frigate of twenty-six guns andthe vessel which had brought the last cargo of patientsfrom the bay. The additional one hundred men, whohad been promised many months before, were nowrecruited from the slums and prisons of New Spain,and constituted Arriola’s chief reliance for the cam-paign he was to undertake. More inefficient prepa-rations for an aggressive expedition against unknownforces could hardly be imagined.

On November 15 Arriola wrote the king that hewas making final arrangements for his return to Pen-sacola. He referred to the scant forces that had been

13 Arriola to the king, Oct. 27, 1699. Jordan to the king,Nov. 7, 1699.

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given him, the deplorable condition of the presidio, and ,the little aid which could be secured there for the workbefore him, He emphasized the utter futility of hold-ing Pensacola. The presidio would not prevent foreignnations from settling in that region, as was provedby the reports of the English settlement. He againsuggested the blockading of the harbor, and the aban-donment of the place. The funds expended on the .presidio could be used in maintaining a squadron oftwelve war vessels, which was the only means bywhich foreign nations could be kept out of that re-gion. 14 A few weeks after this letter was written Ar-riola sailed to share once more the privations of hisforlorn company.

Arriola did not complete the arrangements for theexpedition against the supposed English settlementuntil the beginning of March. He managed to equipa force of one hundred of his strongest troops, whichleft only about forty at the presidio, for disease anddesertion had greatly reduced their ranks. Both Mar-tinez and Franck were detailed to accompany the ex-pedition. The fleet of four vessels sailed on March4, the first destination being Mobile Bay. Some leagueswest of Mobile a party of Indians was sent ashore.They returned with the report that a short distanceaway there was a fort garrisoned by two hundred men,protected by a fleet of several vessels. Not long after-wards a small boat was sighted, which flew an Eng-lish flag. It was overtaken and found to contain tenmen. To the surprise of the Spaniards these menproved to be not English, but French, and the hoaxwhich the latter had perpetrated was now revealed.The Frenchmen were returning to their fort at Biloxi,which had been established, they said, in the previousApril, immediately after the departure of Chasteau-

14 Arriola to the king, Nov. 15, 1699.

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morant. They told Arriola that in addition to thefort called Biloxi, they had built another twenty-fiveleagues up the Palizada, or Mississippi, River; and

that four hundred leagues still further up the river,they had a third fort, which was in direct communi-cation with Canada.

Arriola now seems to have given up all idea of anattack on the French fort. He released the prisonersand sent them on their way with a message to theircommanding officer protesting against the invasionof Spanish territory during a time of peace, and an-nouncing that he would soon follow in person. Biloxiwas reached on March 23, and the Spaniards were re-ceived with great courtesy by the commanders of theFrench vessels. The half starved men were treated tosuch dainties as fresh eggs, fresh bread, milk, wine,and brandy, which caused them to reflect unfavorablyon their own unappetizing rations. Arriola did notPermit this hospitality to interfere with his duty. Headdressed another note to the French commandant,protesting against the establishment of the Frenchfort, and warned him that refusal to abandon it wouldbe considered as an infraction of the treaties thenin force. Two days later a courteous reply was re-ceived from the French officer who was in command.He said that he had occupied that region in. orderto circumvent the English, who were planning toseize it for themselves. He was acting under the directorders of his king, and could take no action withoutauthority from France.

Arriola had perforce to content himself with theprotest he had made. An attack on the fort was outof the question, and on the 27th he began the returnvoyage. Three days later a terrific hurricane arose,which caused the loss of all but one of the vessels.Most of the passengers were saved, however. After

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five days of untold suffering, the survivors made theirway back to the French fort, where they were receivedwith extraordinary kindness, and hospitably enter-tained until the vessels could be summoned from Pen-sacola to carry them back to the presidio.

Such was the unfortunate outcome of the only of-fensive expedition which Spain attempted to sendagainst the French colony of Louisiana. The sole de-sire of the Spanish garrison at Pensacola henceforthwas to be allowed to leave the inferno to which theyhad been condemned. The reports sent in by Arriola,Franck and others were in complete agreement as tothe folly of attempting to maintain the presidio, orcope with the forces of the French. The viceregalgovernment decided to make no changes until thepleasure of the king could be learned. Arriola wasgiven a furlough of four months and Martinez placedin command during his absence. Supplies were or-dered sent to the presidio, and the discontented troopswere doomed to remain at their posts until their fateshould be decided by the distant authorities in Spain. 15

WILLIAM EDWARD DUNN.l5 The foregoing account is based chiefly on the following:

Arriola to the viceroy, June 4, 1700; Franck to the king, June4, 1700. Additional details are given in the French sources inMargry, Decouvertes et Etablissmentes des Francais, iv, p.368 et seq.

(The above concludes this series.)

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NOTES AND COMMENTAfter the failure of DeLuna’s ambitious but short-

lived attempt at a settlement on the shores of the pres-ent Pensacola Bay, the history of Florida for nearlya century and a half lies mainly in that of St. Augus-tine. The details and some salient facts of that his-tory have remained obscure or unknown-buried forthe most part in Spanish archives, especially in Ar-chivo General de Indias at Seville. As the knowledgeof these has come to light historians have weighedthem, studied their relations to each other, and piec-ing them together are telling us the deeply interestingstory of the varied fortunes of our country’s first per-manent settlement. Foremost among those studyingthis period of Florida history is Mrs. Washington E.Connor. The publication last year of her translationwith notes of the Memorial of Pedro Menendez by Solisde Meras, preceded by her comprehensive sketch of thegreat adelantado is the first fruit of her ardent interestand studious research. Mrs. Connor’s scholarly work iscontinued in The Nine Old Wooden Forts of St. Aug-ustine, Part I, the leading paper in this issue. Theremaining portion of the article, bringing to lightmany other facts and telling of the beginnings of thatsurviving monument to the Spaniards in Florida, thehistoric castle of San Marcos, will appear in the next-and we trust that other of her research work maybe read in future numbers of the QUARTERLY.

The archives mentioned are unbelievably rich insource materials for the writing of Florida’s history.Whatever qualities of incompetence or worse were pos-sessed by many of the Spanish colonial governors,they believed in or were required to make full reportsto the king and his officials. So many of these, withother documents, are preserved that the history of

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Spanish colonial Florida can in time be written in de-tail.

To the interest, the unceasing efforts, and thegenerosity of Mr. John B. Stetson, Jr., President ofthe Board of Trustees of John B. Stetson Universityand now United States Minister to Poland, the writerof that history and its readers will be under extra-ordinary obligation. Joining his interest with that ofMrs. Connor, they have undertaken the collection andpublication of the vital documents of those archives.The first volume is in press and will be issued soonby the Florida State Historical Society. This society,however, is a triumvirate, for Dr. James A. Rob-ertson, of Washington, D. C., has joined with them inthat work. The body has no connection with TheFlorida Historical Society, though there is full co-operation.

The series mentioned will be of inestimable valueto the historian of Spanish Florida ; in fact, it will bethe source of the written history of that period. Otherworks are under way or planned from the pen of orunder the direction of Dr. Robertson ; and still moreare to be published, written by other historians ofauthority. Dr. Robertson’s work in the Spanish col-onial field is already notable, and he is well known toFloridians through his editing of Miss Brevard’s His-tory of Florida, a review of which appeared in a re-cent number of our journal. No one could better ac-complish the difficult and varied task he has under-taken, for by talent, bent, and long training he is es-pecially fitted for that work. First to appear, latethis year, will be his bibliography of Florida before1821. In comprehensiveness, in painstaking accuracy,and in evidence of the discernment and judgment ofthe scholar and historian this volume will not be ex-celled by any similar work relating to other states orperiods in American history. Like the series before

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mentioned, this bibliography will be necessary to thehistorian or to any investigator of the history of col-onial Florida.

We Floridians are deeply grateful to Mr. Stetson,Mrs. Connor, and Dr. Robertson for their interest,for what they have accomplished, and for what theyplan to do. Their work should be an incentive as it isan example to the Historical Society and to those ofour members who are directing its efforts. Throughthe continuous cooperation with them that is assured,the knowledge of and the writing of Florida’s history,which has been so limited in the past, must makesteady and rapid progress.

These have become members of the Society sincethe last issue of the journal, their interest is helpfuland is highly valued:Williams, Kate FernandinaRichmond, Mrs. Henry L. JacksonvilleFlagler Memorial Library MiamiLong, Elizabeth V. JacksonvilleHamel, Claude C. MiamiSale, Joseph C. BronsonNapier, George M. Atlanta, GeorgiaStockton, Telfair Jacksonville,Malone, J. W. PensacolaDeLand Public Library DeLandChamber of Commerce FernandinaBurroughs, Rosa T. Rochester, New YorkSmith, Mrs. D. P. New SmyrnaBrown, Hunter PensacolaMizell, Frank TampaGifford, John C. Coconut GroveRoss, Mary Berkeley, CaliforniaAdams, John R. Jacksonville

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General Extension DivisionUniversity of Florida Gainesville

The Library of PrincetonUniversity Princeton, N. J.

We feel keen satisfaction and pride in the publica-tion of A History of Jacksonville, Florida, by T. Fred-erick Davis, the first volume issued by the HistoricalSociety. This work, announced and described in thelast number, is ready for delivery and may be pur-chased from any bookseller or the Secretary ; theprice is five dollars. Through the generosity of Mr.Davis any returns above the actual cost of publica-tion will remain in the Society’s treasury.

Since the October number appeared the Societyhas received the following donations :-

Panorama of St. John’s Bluff showing site of FortCaroline and route of Menendez. Presented by T.Frederick Davis. Photograph by Brown.

Supplementary chapters to History of United StatesMarine Corps. Presented by the author, Major EdwinN. McClellen.

Annual reports -of American Historical Associa-tion, 1920, 1921, 1922. Writings on American His-tory, 1921, 1922. From Smithsonian Institute.

Copy of map of Florida. Lea and Carey, 1823. Pre-sented by A. H. Phinney.

New Smyrna, Florida ; its History and Antiquities.Presented by the author, Zenia Wilson Swett.

Apache Prisoners in Fort Marion. By HerbertWelsh. Presented by C. Seton Fleming.

The Oldest House in the United States. By CharlesB. Reynolds.

Portrait in oil of General Kirby-Smith. By J. P.Walker. Presented by Dr. J. Lee Kirby-Smith.

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The Society gratefully acknowledges the gift of alife-size portrait of General Kirby-Smith from hisson, Dr. J. Lee Kirby-Smith, of Jacksonville. It isthe work of Mr. J. P. Walker of Richmond, Virginia,whose portraits of General Kirby-Smith and othergenerals adorn Confederate Battle Abbey in Rich-mond.

General Edmund Kirby-Smith was born in St.Augustine, Florida, May 16th, 1824. He was gradu-ated at West Point in 1845 and soon afterwardswon three brevets for gallantry in the Mexican War.He was commissioned colonel of cavalry in the Con- -federate service, March 16, 1861, and brigadier-gen-eral June 17, 1861, when he was assigned to the armyof the Shenandoah under General Joseph E. John-son. He commanded a brigade at the first battle ofManassas which broke the Federal lines and insureda Confederate victory. Appointed major-general Oc-tober 11, 1861, he was promoted lieutenant-generalOctober 11, 1862, and appointed general, ProvisionalArmy, February 19, 1864. At Richmond, Kentucky,he won one of the most decisive victories of the war.In February, 1863, he was placed in command of thetrans-Mississippi department where he defeated theexpeditions of Banks and Steele. He held civil andmilitary control over Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, andIndian Territory, shipping cotton to Europe and im-porting machinery, as well as developing mining andmanufacture.

In 1913 the State of Florida placed General Kirby-Smith’s statue in National Statuary Hall in the Cap-itol at Washington.

Miss Williams, the assistant editor, is at this writ-ing in Washington in the interest of the QUARTERLY,where for some weeks she will be at work in the Li-

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brary of Congress, the great store-house of Americanhistorical material. While the especial object of herresearch is the early history of Fernandina and thatpart of the State, she will study also certain other ques-tions and events. The results of her labors will beawaited ‘with interest by the readers of the journal.

On the invitation of The St. Petersburg HistoricalSociety extended and accepted at Tallahassee lastyear, the annual meeting of The Florida HistoricalSociety will be held in the rooms of that body at thefoot of Second Avenue, St. Petersburg, on Wednesday,February 17, at half past eleven o’clock. Can you notcome? If so, write to Dr. A. H. Phinney, 3225 PinellasDrive, that you will be there.

St. Petersburg is a charming city, and is most at-tractive at this season. The growth of the West-coasthas been marvellous ; come and see.

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MEMBERSHIP ROLL OF THE FLORIDAHISTORICAL SOCIETY

HONORARY MEMBERSDetwiler, John Y. New SmyrnaFletcher, Duncan U. Washington, D. C.

LIFE MEMBERSCoachman, Walter F. JacksonvilleCummer, Arthur G. JacksonvilleLee, Ambrose New York, N. Y.Rogers, C. B. JacksonvilleTaliaferro, James P. JacksonvilleWilliams, Arthur T. Jacksonville

C O N T R I B U T I N G M E M B E R S Call, Rhydon M. JacksonvilleConnor, Mrs. Washington E. New York, N. Y.L’EngIe, Edward M. JacksonvilleRobins, Mrs. Raymond BrooksvilleWarfield, S. Davies Baltimore, MarylandYonge, Philip K. Pensacola

ACTIVE MEMBERSAlexander, James E. DeLandAppleyard, Paul S. TallahasseeAppleyard, T. J. TallahasseeApple, Mrs. Mary, E. St. PetersburgAnderson, Annie L. St. PetersburgAndrews, C. 0. OrlandoBarnett, Bion H. JacksonvilleBarnett, Mrs. Bion H. JacksonvilleBarnhill, E. G. St. PetersburgBartlett, A. F. St. Petersburg

Crawford, Wm. Bloxham OrlandoCubberly, Fred GainesvilleCurrie, George C. West Palm BeachChamber of Commerce PensacolaChamber of Commerce FernandinaD’Alemberte, J. H. . PensacolaDavis, E. T. Tallahassee

*Deceased.

Beall, Philip D.*Benedict, FatherBohnenberger, CarlBoggs, Lucien H.Blount, F. M.Bowen, L. J.Brown, Mrs. S. C.Browne, Jefferson B.Brown, L. C.Bright, MaryBruce, F. W. Buckman, Mrs. H. H.Burroughs, Rosa T.

PensacolaSt. LeoJ a c k s o n v i l l eJacksonvillePensacolaBerlin, MarylandCharleston, S. C.Key WestSt. PetersburgSt. PetersburgArlingtonJ a c k s o n v i l l eRochester, N. Y.

*Cary, R. M. PensacolaCarter, W. R. JacksonvilleCarter, John H. SarasotaCawthon, Mrs. W. L. DeFuniak SpringsChillingworth, C. E. West Palm BeachChipman, Mrs. John Corinth, MississippiCoffee, Mrs. W. P. St. PetersburgCook, Mrs. John M. TallahasseeCorry, W. M. QuincyConoley, Douglass F. TampaConradi, Edward TallahasseeCockrell, Alston JacksonvilleCovington, R. V. JacksonvilleCrawford, H. Clay Tallahassee

162

163

Davis, William B.Davis, Robert W.Dawe , GrosvenorDodd, W. G.Dorman, J. T.Dozier, Mrs. Thomas M.*Dismukes, John T.Drew, HoraceDrew, William B.Durkee, Jay H.Durkee, Mrs. Jay H.DuPuie, J. G.DeLand Public Library

Edwards, John S.Edwards, L. B.Eaton, Robert L. Sr.Eaton, Robert L., Jr.Eaton, Mrs. W. T.Emerson, Sarah 0.Eppes, Mrs. Nicholas WareEpperson, W. J.

Fee, William I.Finner, P. F.Filer, D. Z.Fleming, Mrs. Francis P.Fleming, FrankFolsom, MosesFoster, J. CliffordFleming, C. SetonFlagler Memorial Library

Gaines, J. B.Gaskins, Perse L.Gibbs, George CouperGilchrist, A. W.

*Deceased.

Perry GainesvilleTallahasseeTallahasseeTallahasseeAtlanta, GeorgiaSt. AugustineJacksonvilleJacksonvilleJacksonvilleJacksonvilleLemon CityDeLand

LakelandTallahasseeMonticelloTallahasseeSt. PetersburgSt. PetersburgTallahasseeBronson

Fort PierceTallahasseeKey WestJacksonvilleJacksonvilleJacksonvilleSt. AugustineJacksonvilleMiami

Tallahassee J a c k s o n v i l l eJacksonvi l le Punta Gorda

Glass, James G.Gomez, ArthurGoulding, R. L.

Gray, Frank S.Grady, H. L.Green, Raymond C.Grismer, Karl H.Gunn, HughHall, Charles R.Hampton, B. F.Hampton, W. W.Hamilton, Mrs. F. P.Hanna, A. J.Hanna, Roy S.Harmon, Mrs. George C.Harris, J. ViningHartridge, John E.Hathaway, FonsHorne, M. F.Hoyt, Fred W.Hunt, Reinnette L.Hunter, KennethHunter, WilliamHamel, Claude C.

Jackson, William K.Jacobi, Gertrude F.Jennings, Frank E.Jennings, Mrs. Frank E.Jones, LakeJones, Frank S.Jones, John B.

Kay, W. E.Kirke, Mrs. Wallace B.Knauss, James 0.Knight, Peter 0.

164

OrlandoKey WestNew SmyrnaJacksonvilleApalachicolaDaytonaSt. PetersburgKey WestSt. PetersburgGainesvilleGainesvilleJacksonvilleWinter ParkSt. PetersburgJacksonvilleKey WestJacksonvilleTallahasseeJasperJacksonvilleTallahasseeJacksonvilleTampaMiami

Chestnut Hill, Mass.JacksonvilleJacksonvilleJacksonvilleTampaBainbridge, GeorgiaPensacola

JacksonvilleBronxville, N. Y.TallahasseeTampa

Knotts, A. F.Knowles, William H.Krome, Wm. J .Lamar, W. B.Larzelere, L. J.Leake, James M.L’Engle, E. J.L’Engle, Mrs. Henry A.L’Engle, C. S.Leonard, John C.Lester, J. LancelotLewis, Mary D.Lewis, G. E.Loftin, Scott M.Long, Elizabeth V.

Maloney, William F.Massey, JohnMassey, Louis C.Maxwell, E. C.May, Philip S.Mayo, NathanMeginnis, B. A.Merrell, Mrs. HermanMilton, Mrs. W. H.Milton, W. H.Mitchell, Ernest W.Mizell, EverettMoore, Louis S.Mucklow, WalterMuldon, J. M.Murphree, A. A.Myers, Fred T.McCord, Guyte P.McClung, Mrs. S. 0.McKay, D. B.Malone, J. W.

165

InglisPensacolaHomesteadThomasville, GeorgiaJacksonvilleGainesvilleJacksonvilleJacksonvilleJacksonvilleSt. PetersburgKey WestTallahasseeTallahasseeJacksonvilleJacksonville

Key WestPensacolaOrlandoPensacolaJacksonvilleTallahasseeTallahasseeSt. PetersburgMariannaMariannaJacksonvilleFernandinaThomasville, Ga.JacksonvillePensacolaGainesvilleTallahasseeTallahasseeSt. PetersburgTampaPensacola

166

Naugle, E..Newman, Alfred E.Norwood, ArthurNapier, George M.Oliver, H. L.O’Riordan, Fr. J. J.

St. PetersburgSt. PetersburgSt. PetersburgAtlanta, Georgia

ApalachicolaSt. Petersburg

Palmer, Mrs. Sarah R. W. MiamiParks, L. L. TampaPasco, S. PensacolaPeninsular Pub. Co. TampaPettijohn, J. W. JacksonvillePhinney, A. H. St. PetersburgPierce, Mrs. E. L. MariannaP i e r c e , J . L . MariannaPierce, H. L. St. PetersburgPorter, Joseph Y. Key West

Renshaw, Frank G. PensacolaReese, J. S. PensacolaReese, F. C. JacksonvilleReese, Joe Hugh Miami Reynolds, W. W. Cassopolis, MichiganReese, R. P. P e n s a c o l aRoberts, Albert H. TallahasseeRobins,Mrs.Margaret Driver Chinsegut Hill, Brooks-

villeRobertson, James A. Tokoma Park, MarylandRoe, Mrs. J. E. Lansing, MichiganRoser, C. M. St. PetersburgRuge, John G. ApalachicolaRogers, Mrs. R. R. JacksonvilleReynolds, C. B. Mountain Lakes, N. J.Richmond, Mrs. Henry L. Jacksonville

Salley, Nathaniel M. TallahasseeSanderson, E. M. JacksonvilleSanford Public Library Sanford

Shackleford, Thomas M. Sr. TampaSherman, JoeSherrill, J. H.Shine, W. H.Shields, Van WinderShores, Venila LavineSkinner, R. E.Sloan, D. H.Smethurst, Mary G.Smith, S. A.Smith, JonathanSmith, Mrs. Eugene H.Smitz, H. B.Sutton, John B.Stetson, John B. Jr.Stovall, W. F.Straub, W. L.Stirling, M. W.Strawn, Mrs. TheodoreStrum, Louie W.Swett, Mrs. S. J.Shaw, AlbertSale, Joseph C.Stockton, Telfair

Highland Park, MichiganPensacolaTallahasseeJacksonvilleTallahasseeTampaLakelandSt. AugustineMadisonSt. PetersburgThomasville, GeorgiaSt. PetersburgTampaElkins Park, Penn.TampaSt. PetersburgSt. PetersburgDeLandTallahasseeNew SmyrnaNew York City, N. Y.BronsonJacksonville

Taylor, A. M.Taylor, Mrs. Albert A.Taylor, J. F.Terrell, GlennThorpe, E. W.Tourist News

St. AugustineCocoaPensacolaTallahasseeDeFuniak SpringsSt. Petersburg

Warnock, Wm. H. InvernessWarrington, Mrs. Emily A. St. PetersburgWartmann, E. L. CitraWatson, C. Roy MarcoWatson, Ernest A. JacksonvilleWatson, W. H. Pensacola

168

Waties, Mrs. M. B.Weeks,. J. M.Wentworth, George P.Welsh, AgnewWest, George M.West, G. M.West, Thomas F.Wideman, FrankWhiddon, Mrs. C. C.White, Mrs. Jennie MayWilkinson, E. G.Woman’s ClubWhitfield, J. B.Williams, ArthurWilliams, Emma R.Williams, Francis M.Williams, Isabella M.Williams, Lucy S.Williams, KateWilliams, Ileen

TallahasseePunta GordaPensacolaMiamiSt. AndrewsPanama CityTallahasseeWest Palm BeachCedar KeyDetroit, MichiganNaplesKey WestTallahasseeTallahasseeJacksonvilleJacksonvilleJacksonvilleJacksonvilleFernandinaKey West

Williamson, Mrs. A. M. TallahasseeWinthrop, Francis B. Tallahassee

Yonge, Julia J. DeFuniak SpringsYonge, Julien C. PensacolaYonge, J. E. D. Pensacola