Fort Caroline National Memorial (Jacksonville, Florida)

Last updated: April 14, 2023

Fort Caroline was an attempted French colonial settlement in Jacksonville Florida established on June 22, 1564 as a safe haven for Huguenots who were being persecuted in France because they were Protestant, rather than Catholic. It was an attempt for them to gain religious freedom and improve their lives.

The French colony came into conflict with the Spanish. At the break of dawn on September 20, 1565, about 400 Spanish troops stormed the sparsely defended fort and massacred 130 people. About 70 colonists fled and those that made it to ships headed back to France. Approximately 50 women and children were taken prisoner.

While this is all horrific, the Spaniards were not done. They tracked down two separate groups of starved shipwrecked French soldiers and killed nearly all of them sparing only 30 who were Catholic, musicians or craftsmen. Three weeks later, the Spaniards discovered a large group of shipwrecked French soldiers and decided to spare all of their lives.

Three years later, in 1568, a French force came back to Fort Caroline and defeated the Spaniards that had taken ownership of the fort (it had been renamed to San Mateo) by hanging 200 and burning the fort to the ground. After their mission was accomplished, they sailed back to France.

Fort Caroline was a reminder for me to be grateful I live in America where I am free to worship and serve in whatever way I please. I am not subject to religious prosecution and am a proud American living in the land of the free.

My heart goes out to the French who were trying to better their lives only to be met with death. What do you think of Fort Caroline?