Fort Marion

A New Era Brings a New Name

After the United States military took possession of the Castillo de San Marcos in 1821, the name change was done with a simple translation, and the fortress just became known as Fort Saint Marks. However, did you know there was another Castillo de San Marcos a.k.a Fort Saint Marks in Florida?

Located 20 miles south of Tallahassee, Castillo de San Marcos de Apalache was built by the Spanish to protect the junction of the Wakulla and Saint Marks Rivers. When Florida became a territory of the United States, this Castillo de San Marcos also became Fort Saint Marks. Having two Florida fortifications with the same name caused quite the confusion, and so on January 7, 1825, Adj. Gen. Charles J. Noures signed a general order redesignating the military post in Saint Augustine as Fort Marion.

It was during the "Fort Marion era" that the Castillo saw some of its darkest years. In 1837, Osceola and roughly 200 other Seminoles were held at the fort by the U.S. Army as prisoners of war. During the American Civil War, the fort was used by both sides. Fort Marion would once again become a place of incarceration for Native Americans in 1875 when 74 captives from five different Great Plains Tribes were held here, and again in 1886 when nearly 500 Chiricahua Apache met the same fate.

It was still Fort Marion when President Coolidge designated the site a National Monument in 1924. It would continue to hold this name until 1942, when Congress voted to restore the original Spanish name: Castillo de San Marcos.