Youth Ambassadors learn to fire 18th century cannon

Historic City News was informed that yesterday, after days of specialized training, 16-year-old volunteer Samantha Cosme, a student attending the summer cannon school at the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, had the honor of firing a working cannon at St Augustine’s historic fort.

National Park Service Ranger Joseph Brehm is the Historic Weapons Supervisor at the Castillo, and he is leading the educational program for attendees who are members of the 450th Youth Ambassadors group.

“In 2005, I visited the Castillo de San Marcos and jumped from my shoes with the cannon was fired,” Cosme said. “Now it is just a small part of history; that has become part of me.”

Wearing the outfit of a colonial Spanish soldier of the 1740’s, Samantha, together with three other soldiers, took the stage to entertain a large crowd of visitors excited to witness the historical re-enactment Saturday.

The oldest masonry fort in the continental United States, the Castillo de San Marcos is a large Spanish stone fortress built to protect and defend Spain’s claims in the New World. It’s a National Monument of over 315 years old. It’s the oldest structure in the entire city.

At the fort you will find plenty to explore, from the numerous rooms that once housed soldiers and prisoners of every era, to the large interior courtyard and an upper gun deck which offers a great view of the city.

Re-enactments, cannon firings, and weaponry demonstrations are held on a regular basis.

Photo credits: © 2013 Historic City News contributed photograph by Raphael Cosme