Colloquially referred to as a patch or unit patch, the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia worn today by personnel of the Florida Army National Guard serving in the Joint Force Headquarters (HQ) of the state’s National Guard was originally approved for HQ and HQ Detachment, Floria National Guard on 7 March 1949. It retained this designation until 30 December 1983 when it was redesignated for the HQ, State Area Command, Florida Army National Guard. It was amended to reflect an updated description and redesignated for the Florida Army National Guard Element, Joint Force HQ on 1 October 2003.
The design of the patch is simply an outline in white of Castillos de Marcos, the oldest masonry for in the continental United States, as it would appear from an overhead perspective set on a field of red. Construction began on the fort in 1672 as a response to a raid an English privateer named Robert Searles that left much of the city of St. Augustine in ruins and damaged the city’s existing wooden fort.
Originally a Spanish fort, the installation would change hands numerous times over the decades, with the British gaining control in1763 through treaty but returning it to Spain for the same reason in 1784. In January 1861,the fort—now called Fort Marion to honor Revolutionary War hero General Francis Mario—had been evacuated by Union forces, leaving a lone Union Soldier serving as caretaker; he sensibly surrendered to Confederate forces with no shots being fired. Fourteen months later, however, the Union recaptured it.
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Florida Army National Guard Element, Joint Force HQ Unit Crest (DUI)In the post-Civil War era, the Fort was used primarily to house prisoners of war, including Native Americans captured during the Indian War in the American West. In 1924, the fort as designated as a National Monument, and in 1933 it was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service. It was given the name Castillo de San Marcos to honor its Spanish heritage in 1942, and has since become a popular tourist attraction for visitors to St. Augustine.