Place

San Agustin Bastion

If viewed from a bird’s eye, overhead, the Castillo is square in shape, with four diamond-shaped structures extending from each corner. The diamond shaped structures, called bastions, are connected by a path called a gundeck. The San Agustin Bastion is located on the southeast corner of the Castillo.  The view from the San Agustin Bastion is of the St. Augustine Bay (or Bayfront). The entrance, fee booth, the sea wall, and the parking lot can be seen from this location.  The east facing bastion walls are about one to two feet tall and the south facing walls are about 5 feet tall. Each side of the diamond-shaped structure is unique. Facing the bastion from the gundeck, going from left to right:  At the southeast corner, is a cylindrically shaped structure with a domed top. You can walk to the structure through a 10-foot corridor. There is a low doorway, approximately 5 ½ feet tall. You may need to duck down. The interior is 8 feet high with three small square windows.  The south wall has a two-step stone platform that runs along the wall, it turns the right corner and continues to the corner of the gundeck. There are also wooden platforms, about 7 to 8 inches, that extend out from the wall about 18 feet.  Two ornate bronze cannons sit on top of wooden carriages which stand about 3 feet tall and have four wooden wheels wrapped with iron straps. They face out to the historic city though cutouts in the wall.  To the right of those cannons is a pole flying the Spanish colonial flag, which is white with a ragged red “xâ€, shape.  The right corner of the diamond shape has two 4 foot wide cutouts in the wall before the bastion connects to the gundeck.

Quick Facts

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot

The design of the fort consists of four diamond-shaped bastions and four connecting walls known as curtains. Cannon were mounted in the embrasures, the cut-outs in the parapet walls. These walls protected the cannon and their crews from incoming fire.

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument

Tags

Last updated: February 11, 2021