Join The Historic Florida Militia for their recreation of “Searle’s Sack of St. Augustine,” one of only two true pirate attacks to have occurred in our nation’s oldest city, on Saturday, March 5th.

Their portrayal of Searle’s Sack recreates the famous bloody pirate raid on St. Augustine in 1668. This deadly incursion was led by English Privateer Captain Robert Searle when he and his crew laid siege to the city and its inhabitants. Searle and his privateers sailed from Jamaica to loot the silver ingots held in the city’s royal coffers. Under the cover of night, they slipped into the harbor and attacked the sleeping town’s people, killing sixty and pillaging government buildings, churches, and homes. The devastation wrought by these pirates prompted Spain’s Council of the Indies to issue money to build a massive stone fortress on Matanzas Bay to protect the city. The Castillo de San Marcos still stands today as an enduring reminder of Florida’s turbulent past.

This year marks the 354th Anniversary of this shocking attack. Living history interpreters from all over the country will converge on Saint Augustine to participate in this our twenty-second annual event. This living history event, presented by Searle’s Buccaneers and the Men of Menéndez (both member companies of Historic Florida Militia), with the assistance of the Saint Johns County Tourist Development Council and the Oldest House Museum, has three distinct parts.

Part #1 The procession that announces the arrival of the raiding pirates and heralds in this annual event will begin in the area of the Cathedral Basilica at 4:30 PM on Friday, March 4th. From there the historically clad re-enactors will proceed north on St. George Street to the Santo Domingo Redoubt on Orange Street.  This affords the viewing public an opportunity to take some great photographs, speak with our historians and learn all about this truly historic pirate attack.

Part #2. The Searle’s Sack encampment will take place on Friday, March 4th, and Saturday, March 5th from 10 AM to 4 PM at the Oldest House Museum located at 14 Saint Francis Street. Visitors can see 1668 colonial St. Augustine in action at this living-history camp. Witness demonstrations of weapons, clothing, and equipment, as well as reenactments of camp life and social activities.  For this special event, admission to the encampment  at the Oldest House Museum will be free with regular museum admission.

Part #3. The recreation of the battle between the privateers and the city’s Spanish defenders will take place in St. Augustine’s Historic District at 4:30 PM on Saturday, March 5th beginning at the Plaza de Constitucion and ending near the Old City Gate area. The English privateers will head north on St. George Street from Cathedral Place and the battle will commence when they clash with the Spanish defenders, who will be stationed at the Santo Domingo Redoubt on Orange Street.  (Across from Potter’s Wax Museum and near the City Gate.)  This living history event takes on a real feel when the historians demonstrate how the Spanish settlers had to fight off Searle and his pirates.  The beating of drums, the waving of flags, musket and cannon firings, sword fights, and pike pushes are all part of the dramatic recreation of this famous attack of our town.