Moore was far more successful in Apalache than in Saint Augustine. He destroyed the vestiges of the once-flourishing Franciscan mission villages in Apalache and won over a great many Indian allies to English allegiance. By defeating Mexia he discredited the Spaniards in western Florida and ultimately forced the evacuation of Fort San Luis. Short of powder, food, and men, and threatened by new Yamasee attacks, the garrison made preparations to evacuate the fort soon after Moore’s retirement. On July 16, 1704, the commandant sent his last dispatch to Governor Zuniga, who ordered the garrison to destroy San Luis and withdraw to Pensacola. In October, 1704, Zuniga wrote to Philip V: “I have found it to our best interests to retire the garrison and to demolish the fort because of the impossibility of supplying the infantry there, 80 leagues away. [Note 25: gov to king 10/6/1704] But without a doubt Moore’s attack had been a decisive factor in forcing the withdrawal. The evacuation of Fort San Luis left Governor Zuniga with only two defense posts—Fort San Marcos at Saint Augustine and Salamototo, a tiny blockhouse just south of present-day Jacksonville on the banks of the Saint John’s River. Florida had once encompassed the territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the mouth of the Rio Grande and from the Gulf of Mexico to Nova Scotia. Now the province was reduced to two precarious footholds, liable to fail at any moment if the Carolinians renewed their attacks. (Tepaske GSF)