On December 18, 1775, General George Washington wrote a letter to John Hancock, warning the Continental Congress that the British were stockpiling weapons and gunpowder in St. Augustine, East Florida. In his letter, Washington was sounding an alarm, as he feared that the British were preparing to reclaim the southern colonies by invading Georgia and South Carolina with an army from East Florida - a colony wholly loyal to King George III. And Washington was correct! The role played by British St. Augustine in the American War of Independence is Florida's most unique story in its 500-year history - perhaps the most unique story of the American Revolution.