Visitors to St. Augustine Oct. 22 had an opportunity to witness the historic reenactment of the changing of the guard. Historical interpreters marched down St. George Street from the Colonial Quarter to Government House, where they were met by a second squad of soldiers – or “soldados.” The relief troops then exchanged places with the soldados already stationed on guard duty, firing their muskets.
The ceremony reenacts the daily ritual instituted in 1740 by the Spanish colonial governor of St. Augustine, who ordered the patrol of soldados to march through the city each evening to ensure residents were safe within the walls. Once the city was secure, the soldados would march to the governor’s mansion, where a relief squad would assume watch.
