Kilted in the oldest continuously occupied settlement in the US

[Kilted Karl]

I will never live that down.... Yes it should be European settlement. Thank you.

Dear All,

San Augustine is a wonderful city. it is chock full of history, living historians, and, believe it or not, Scottish history.


I wore my kilt the whole time (the first time I have really worn it apart from Scottish events) and it was great. I got a lot of good responses, especially from the reenactors who appreciated the whole "wool/historical/quality clothing thing.


I was also surprised that there was a lot of Scottish heritage and kilt wearing in the history of this Spanish city.



In 1740 (I think it was) James Edward Oglethorpe, governor of Georgia, (who seemingly had a thing for highlanders) laid siege to San Augustine and the Castillo de San Marcos vowing to leave his bones before its walls (a vow that he did not keep, just like the Spanish commander who vowed to shed his last drop of blood in the defense of the city). When he came south from Georgia he brought his highlanders with him. Scottish valour notwithstanding, the coquina walls and their Spanish defenders held the Castillo against the English and Oglethorpe was forced to retire.



Somewhere along the line, fort Mose was captured and garrisoned with Scots. This did not last long. One night, the Spanish and their Indian allies surprised the fort, captured it and slaughtered the defenders. The Scottish, as one reenactor told me, were cut up into teeny pieces, literally.


Thus the English bid for Florida was turned back, for the time being.


Later, the Spanish decided to try for Georgia. This went no better than the English attack of Florida. In a Spanish attack of a fort garrisoned by highlanders, the Scots were given a great opportunity for revenge. An opportunity they took.


(The Spaniard is dressed as the garrison of the Castillo would have been dressed in 1740. Funny thing though... the Scotsman has the important end of the gun....)

There are also some Scottish connections in the Seminole wars. The Seminoles were not a "tribe" of Indians nor were they native to Florida, but were rather a conglomeration of native and other people from further north. Some of the Seminoles and at least one of their leaders had Scottish heritage and even Scottish names. According to one tour guide we met, one of the Seminole leaders was descended in direct line from a Scottish Chief.

feel free to correct my history or add to it. It has been couple of weeks and my memory is not the best

As a whole, my kilted visit to San Augustine was very pleasant, much more enjoyable that If I had been wearing modern trousers, and a wonderful introduction to the world of kilt wearing!

If any of you happen to go (if you have not been), the best history places (that we visited) are the Castillo de San Marcos


the Fountain of Youth Historical Park, only a short walk from the Castillo, (once a "touristy" place but now becoming a real historical park)

and Fort Matanzas


If you do go kilted to the Fountain of Youth and meet one John Powell (who REALLY gets into his Catholic Spanish persona)



Tell him that more of the dirty rotten stinking heretic Scots have arrived! I think he will understand

Your Obedient Servant,

Karl

[Beertigger]

If you're talking Europeans, perhaps St. Augustine has a bid, but people began farming at the base of Sentinel Peak in Tucson 4,000 years ago. Some estimates put the length of continuous occupation here at 12,000 years.

[Duke of Delrio]

And let us not forget that Santa Fe was already an ancient city before the first European ships landed. This does not take away from the wonderful things St. Augustine has to offer all who visit there.

[macwilkin]

If you're talking Europeans, perhaps St. Augustine has a bid, but people began farming at the base of Sentinel Peak in Tucson 4,000 years ago. Some estimates put the length of continuous occupation here at 12,000 years.

And let us not forget that Santa Fe was already an ancient city before the first European ships landed. This does not take away from the wonderful things St. Augustine has to offer all who visit there.

Santa Fe was founded in 1608; St. Augustine in 1565, making it the oldest continuously occupied European city in North America. If I remember my Arizona history, Old Oraibi, a Hopi village, is generally considered by historians to be the oldest inhabited settlement in the USA (founded in 1100 AD).

T.

[gordontaos]

The folks over at Taos Pueblo and Acoma Pueblo also have a running debate as to which of them live in the oldest continually inhabited building in the US.
I tend to side with Taos.

[cryerelizabeth]

Oglethorpe is the bomb!!! He's the reason why my ancestors came her from Scotland!

I have yet to go anywhere in public other than some friends party for something.

[macwilkin]

Well done Karl! Your photos make me very green wi' envy. I've wanted to visit St. Augustine and the Castillo since the Second Grade, when we made clay models of the fort as part of our social studies assignment. I'm proud to say that the Castillo is a National Monument under the National Park Service -- it was always one of my "dream parks".

And yes, your description of the Scottish connections with local history is very good. There was quite a bit of Scots blood among the Five Civilized Tribes, especially the Creeks and Cherokee. There were also quite a few Scots traders in British Florida after the French & Indian War, including the Scottish firm Panton, Leslie & Co.

Regards,

Todd

[tulloch]

Great photos. Thank you.

[guardsman]

fair dos scots will sleep with almost anything , hence McTavish kangaroo hahaha

[Nick the DSM]

Wow, great pics! One more place to visit on the bucket list.