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On November 17, 1792, George
Vancouver, Captain of the British frigate H.M.S. Discovery,
came ashore to the Spanish colony of Yerba Buena. While the Spanish
outpost provided supplies for the Discovery, Vancouver was
given a tour of the Presidio grounds. In a report to the British
government later that year, Vancouver recounted the type and condition
of the fortifications used at the Presidio:
We soon arrived at the Presidio, which was more than a mile from
our landing place. Its wall, which fronted the harbor, was visible
from the ships . . . The only object of human agency which presented
itself, was a square area, whose sides were about two hundred
yards in length, enclosed by a mud wall, and resembling a pound
for cattle. Above this wall, the thatched roofs of their low small
houses, just made their appearance. On entering the Presidio we
found one of its sides still unenclosed by the wall, and very
indifferently fenced in by a few bushes here and there, fastened
to stakes in the ground. The unfinished state of this part, afforded
us an opportunity to see the strength of the wall, and the manner
in which it was constructed. It is about fourteen feet high, and
about five feet in breadth, and was first formed by uprights and
horizontal rafters or large timber, between which dried sods and
moistened earth were pressed as close and as hard as possible;
after which the whole was cased with earth made into a sort of
mud plaster, which gave the appearance of durability, and of being
sufficiently strong to protect them, with the assistance of their
firearms, against all the force which the natives of the country
might be able to collect.1
When Vancouver discovered that the Presidio's walls were of earthen
construction and could not defend against modern artillery, he exposed
the high vulnerability of the Presidio's fortifications. He also
gave a detailed description of the Presidio's infrastructure, which
further compromised the Presidio's defenses:
Their [the soldiers'] houses were along the wall, within the
square, and their fronts uniformly extended the same distance
into the area, which is a clear open space, without buildings
or other interruptions. The only entrance into it, is by a large
gateway; facing which, and against the opposite wall or side,
is the church; which, though small, was neat in comparison to
the rest of the buildings. This projects further into the square
than the house, and is distinguishable from the other edifices,
by being white-washed with lime made from sea-shells; lime stone
or calcareous earth not having yet been discovered in the neighbourhood.
On the left of the church, is the commandant's house, consisting,
I believe, of two rooms and a closet only, which are divided by
massy walls, similar to that which encloses the square and communicating
with each other by very small doors. Between these apartments
and the outward wall was an excellent poultry house and yard,
which seemed pretty well stocked; and between the roof and the
ceilings of the room was a kind of lumber: those were all the
conveniences the habitation seemed calculated to afford. The rest
of the houses, though smaller, were fashioned exactly after the
same manner; and in the winter, or the rainy seasons, must be
at the best uncomfortable dwellings. For though the walls are
a sufficient security against the inclemency of the weather, yet
the windows, which are cut in the front wall, and look into the
same square, are destitute of glass, or any other defense that
does not at the same time exclude light.1
1. Vancouver, George. A voyage of Discovery
to the North Pacific and Round the World 1791-1795, ed. by
W. Keye Lamb, 4 vols. Cambridge, England: The Hakluyt Society,
1984.
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