On June 4th of 1586, Sir Francis Drake approached the harbor of the Spanish colonial city of St. Agustin with 2000 Englishmen under his command. With cannons mounted opposite the Spanish wooden fort, a duel began with the Spanish forces, 300 of who would abandon the fort during the night. In the morning, the English would cross Matanzas Bay and take the fortification, driving the Spanish rear guard from the city.

At 7pm, the reenactment of the sacking and burning of old St. Agustin by Drake’s men will commence at the Old City Gates and end in the Plaza. This event symbolically commemorates the temporary abandonment of the city by Spanish colonial forces who did return to rebuild after the town was burned and looted by Drake’s men.

For additional information, visit the event website.

Image used is from the Drake’s Raid website.