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Gallery: San Marcos de Apalachee

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	Sign marking the location of the first Spanish fort where the Wakulla and St. Marks rivers meet. "This is the site of the original Spanish fortifications. The first fort was a flimsy wooden fort started in 1678 and completed in 1679. The second fort also of wood was built in 1718 on this site. A hurricane flooded this fort in 1758 and forty men were drowned. The effects of this hurricane required a new start on the construction of the stone fort."
	Area occupied by the original wooden forts.
	The first wooden forts were built on low, swampy ground.
	The first wooden forts were built on low, swampy ground.
	San Marcos de Apalachee was located where the Wakulla and St. Marks Rivers meet.
	These are the stone foundations of the Spanish bombproof begun in the 1750s. The bombproof was a series of four arched rooms with strong doors to protect men and supplies during an attack. The roof was used as a firing position for soldiers who defended the fort's north wall. The limestone walls were used to construct the Marine Hospital and a lighthouse around 1857.
	The foundations of the bombproof at San Marcos de Apalache.
	Detail of the foundations of the bombproof at San Marcos de Apalache.
	North wall of San Marcos de Apalache. The small rooms visible in this view were just inside the fort wall. Beyond the wall, to the right, was a moat.
	View looking down on the north wall of San Marcos de Apalache.
	This area was a moat when the Spanish held San Marcos de Apalache. After the United States Army acquired the fort in 1821, the moat was allowed to erode and partially fill in. When Confederate troops built Fort Ward on the site, they filled in the rest of the moat.
	The Bastion of San Fernando at San Marcos de Apalache. This bastion allowed soldiers to fire at ships on the Wakulla River. The modern wooden retaining wall was built to slow the erosion of the limestone bastion.
	View of the Wakulla River from the Bastion of San Fernando.
	Fort Ward gun position. During the Civil War, Confederate troops placed a battery of cannons here. Ammunition of the cannons was stored in a powder magazine located behind the gun position. The St. Marks River is visible in this photograph.
	Confederate earthworks. This embankment was constructed as the north wall of Fort Ward. Fort Ward protected shipping at St. Marks for the Confederacy.
	Confederate powder magazine. This large hill was built over an interior storage space for Fort Ward's gunpowder and explosives.
	The American Cemetery. When Andrew Jackson's troops occupied the fort in 1818, several of the men died of disease. They were buried in a cemetery near the fort. When the forgotten cemetery was rediscovered, the soldiers' remains were reburied at this place on the fort grounds.
	A memorial plaque on the grounds of San Marcos de Apalache. "In grateful remembrance for a heroic and humanitarian act of courage in saving the life of an American soldier in March, 1818, Princess Malee "Milly" Francis (c.1803-1848) Woman of the Creek (Seminole) Indian nation, recipient, pension in 1844 and medal from the US Congress, daughter of Chief Hillis Hadjo, Francis the Prophet, who lived on the Wakulla River near the Spanish fort San Marcos."
	Foundation stones of the Marine Hospital built in the years 1857-1858 to care for ailing seamen. The hospital foundation was built from large stones salvaged from the old Spanish fort.
	Foundation stones of the Marine Hospital built in the years 1857-1858 to care for ailing seamen. The hospital foundation was built from large stones salvaged from the old Spanish fort.
	Today, a visitor center sits on the foundation of the former Marine Hospital. The center contains exhibits of the area's history

 

 

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