Fort Matanzas was constructed on Rattlesnake Island by the Spanish in 1740-42 to control the "back door" to St Augustine and avoid another lengthy siege similar to that of 1740. While seemingly lacking in defenses, the fort had a commanding field of fire toward any enemy approaching by water. Long before a ship could maneuver to train her guns on the fort, the ship would have been under attack from the fort. Like the Castillo de San Marcos, Fort Matanzas is constructed of coquina. The fort is 50 feet by 50 feet and had five cannon manned by one officer, four infantrymen and two gunners on month-long rotation from St. Augustine. The officer had a private room upstairs, below the lookout on the roof. The men were quartered at the same elevation as the guns. In 1742, the cannon were used to drive off English scouting boats from a 12 warship flotilla. This was the only time Fort Matanzas fired on an enemy.
The visitor center was built in 1936 and is listed on the National Regiser of Historic Places. It hosts a short video presentation about the fort as well as a small gift shop and is also the location for obtaining free tickets to the ferry to the fort. We visited in early February, 2013.
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| Visitor Center |
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| Fort from across the river |
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| Fort from the marsh (A rope ladder would have been the only access, the stairs are for tourist safety) |
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| Men's quarters |
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| View from the barracks window |
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| Officer's quarters |
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| View north from the rooftop lookout |
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| Matanzas River and Rattlesnake Island near sunset |
The park website is http://www.nps.gov/foma/index.htm.
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