The English dugouts moved southward along the coastal channel without opposition. Early in March Palmer’s force reached San Juan Island at the mouth of the Saint John’s River, where his men left their boats to make the land trek south to Saint Augustine. Along the way a Spanish scout detected the advancing troop of Englishmen and Indians and sounded the alarm. This enabled the Yamasees to prepare for the attack by concentrating at Nombre de Dios, the best fortified Yamasee village a short distance from Saint Augustine. (Tepaske GSF)