Siege of St. Augustine (1702)

Siege of St. Augustine
Part of Queen Anne's War
Detail from a 1733 map showing the North American coastline between Charles Town and St. Augustine
Date 10 November – 30 December 1702 Location St. Augustine, Spanish Florida Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Spain	Kingdom of England
Commanders and leaders
José de Zúñiga y la Cerda Estevan de Berroa Captain López de Solloso	James Moore
Strength
204 regulars and marines[1] 1,500 civilians	500–600 provincial militia 300–600 Indians[2]
Casualties and losses
reports vary; light	reports vary; light

The siege of St. Augustine occurred in Queen Anne's War during November and December 1702. It was conducted by English colonists from the Province of Carolina and their Indian allies, under the command of governor of Carolina James Moore, against the Spanish colonial fortress of Castillo de San Marcos at St. Augustine, in Spanish Florida.

After destroying coastal Spanish communities north of St. Augustine, Moore's forces arrived at St. Augustine on 10 November, and immediately began siege operations. The Spanish governor, José de Zúñiga y la Cerda, had advance warning of their arrival, and withdrew civilians and food supplies into the fortress, and also sent messengers to nearby Spanish and French communities for relief.

The English guns did little damage to the fortress walls, prompting Governor Moore to send an appeal to Jamaica for larger guns. The Spanish calls for relief were successful; a fleet sent from Havana, Cuba landed troops nearby on 29 December. Moore lifted the siege the next day, and was forced to burn many of his boats before retreating to Charles Town in disgrace.