Experience the reenactment of one of the only two real pirate attacks on St. Augustine.
Join Historic Florida Militia on the first weekend in March for the reenactment of Searle’s Sack of St. Augustine, one of only two true pirate attacks to have occurred in the nation’s oldest city.
The Historic Florida Militia’s portrayal of Searle’s Sack recreates the famous bloody pirate raid on St. Augustine in 1668 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, slipping into the harbor and attacking the sleeping town, 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 for a massive stone fortress on Matanzas Bay to protect the city known as the Castillo de San Marcos.
This year marks the 355th Anniversary and re-enactors from all over the country will participate in this twenty-fifth annual event.
This living history event, presented by Searle’s Buccaneers, Historic Florida Militia, and the St Augustine Historical Society, with the assistance of the St. John’s County Tourist Development Council, has three distinct parts.
This event is free and open to the public.
2023/03/03 - 2023/03/04
Additional time info:
This event is free and open to the public.
Oldest House Museum Complex
14 St. Francis Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084