Audio
Sharks in the Moat
Transcript
Emily Ward (0:18)- Welcome to Castillo conversations. My name is Emily Ward and I'm a Public History major at Flagler College and I've been interning at the Castillo de San Marcos. I'm joined today by a special friend and a fellow resident of St. Augustine, Bobby Batson. We are going to talk to you about some of the most commonly asked questions about the history of the Castillo. So Bobby, what do you want to talk about today? Bobby Batson (0:39)- Well, today I had a couple of questions actually regarding the moat that's around the Castillo fort. Is it true that the Spanish in order to fight off invaders and keep them from climbing the walls they actually put sharks and alligators inside the moat with all the water? Emily Ward (0:55)- No, so there actually were no sharks or alligators in the moat. There actually wasn't even water in the moat to put sharks and alligators in Bobby Batson (1:04)- But I thought most moats had water in them. Emily Ward (1:07)- Typically water in the moat is to prevent the enemy from being able to dig underneath the walls, getting their ladders close enough to climb the walls. But they didn't really have to worry about those problems at the Castillo, because in Florida, the sea level so low, the tunnel would flood anyway. Plus, the Spanish didn't have to worry about enemies climbing the walls of the fort because the cannons at the top could shoot enemies from about a mile away. So you see the Spanish shouldn't really need water in the moat. Bobby Batson (1:34)- Well, then what was the moat even good for? Emily Ward (1:36)- That's a really good question. So the Spanish needed a safe place to keep their livestock corralled close by as a food source. The Spanish would store barrels of rice beans, corn flour and dried and salted meats inside the rooms, but if they wanted fresh meat, they needed live animals. Bobby Batson (1:52)- But why would they need to stockpile so much food for the fort? Emily Ward (1:56)- So the Castillo was a siege fortress. So when an enemy attacked, they would surround the fort to cut off the Spanish supply lines to try to starve them into giving up. See, they didn't really have many other options. They couldn't tunnel under the walls. They couldn't climb over them, and they couldn't knock them down, either. The coquina stone the fort is made of has millions of teeny tiny air pockets. So when a cannonball hits, it's like sticking a knife into cheese, the stone doesn't shatter, and the walls do not fall. So the only option left is for the enemy to try and starve out who's inside. Bobby Batson (2:29)- Okay, but then, if the British was smart, wouldn't they just shoot out the livestock from the moat and wipe out their food supply? Emily Ward (2:36)- Well, the livestock actually would have been pretty protected from enemy fire because of the moat wall and the walls of the covered way. See, the Castillo is tucked down inside a gigantic foxhole and everything at the moat level is hidden and protected. Much more useful that way. Bobby Batson (2:51)- Okay, but then how come I've seen pictures from the 1990s of the moat with water inside of it? Emily Ward (2:58)- Well, that's because you weren't the only person who thought the Spanish had water in the moat. For a long time the national park service thought there was supposed to be water in the moat too. So for about sixty years from the 1930s to the 1990s they had water in the moat. That was before people realized the water was causing damage to the coquina. But that's a whole other story. Bobby Batson (3:19)- Huh? I wonder how many people like me thought there was actually water in the moat. Well, that's about all for my questions today. Thank you for answering them for me. Emily Ward (3:27)- Thank you for asking. I'm glad we got that all cleared up, and now everyone knows the Castillo had a dry moat. Thanks to everyone for listening to this episode of Castillo Conversations, Sharks in the Moat.
Description
Join Emily Ward, Flagler College Public History Intern at Castillo de San Marcos, and Bobby Batson, fellow resident of St. Augustine, to explore one of the most commonly asked questions about the history of the Castillo, "Were there sharks and alligators in the moat?"
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