René de Laudonnière, 1564-1565 . This French colonial expedition established a garrisoned fort near the mouth of the St. Johns River near modern Jacksonville, Florida, where Jean Ribault had visited two years previously. Three ships containing some 300 men landed in June, quickly constructing Fort Caroline along the river. Over the course of the next year, the colony interacted extensively with surrounding Native Americans, but lack of supplies left them in a precarious position by the time an English fleet traded badly-needed supplies for most of the French cannons. When French supplies and reinforcements finally arrived under Jean Ribault in August, Spanish forces under Pedro Menéndez had already landed to the south, ultimately leading to the annihilation of the French colony.