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Content Enable editor Use plain text Code entry On August 3rd, Don Juan Ruiz del Canto brought a letter from Guemes to Montiano.* It appeared to be quite confidential, because Montiano says that Guemes entrusted Canto with the letter, and Canto said he had remained in his cabin.* In the letter, Guemes had suggestions for Montiano to get prepared for Oglethorpe’s return.* Guemes also said he was preparing the frigate Santa Catarina under the command of Don Joseph de Herrera, two other frigates equipped for war, two transports and a sloop with stores.* Per Guemes’s suggestions, Montiano sent a boat with eleven men to remain stationed on the bar of Mosquitoes.* They were to report the state of St. Augustine to Captain Don Joseph de Herrera, so that when the time was right, Bartolome de Espinosa could leave to take Guemes a duplicate of the report of the withdrawal of the Generals Oglethorpe and Pierse.* As of August 3rd, Montiano still had not received confirmation of whether the enemy had evacuated the St. Johns River.* However, more deserters had come into St. Augustine, and they assured him that they were to embark on August 5th.* They also said the English had sent a few launches into the river to pick up the cannons at Pupo and demolish the fort there.* Another defector confirmed that the English were maintaining themselves at San Juan, including all the troops, militia, and smaller boats.* To verify these reports, Montiano sent various patrols of cavalry and Indians to spy on any remaining English in Florida.* He instructed them to very carefully observe the Englishmen’s movements so that the Spaniards could guard against any treacherous intentions.* It was tempting to send troops to follow the English rearguard.* However, Montiano did a headcount and found that more than one hundred men were missing from the eight visiting companies.* The remaining troops were exhausted.* After surviving the siege, he did not want to expose St. Augustine to any further risk.* On the other hand, he did want that risk eliminated once and for all.* He sat down and wrote a letter to Guemes confirming Guemes’s plan to get prepared.* He pledged that if Guemes sent more backup, St. Augustine would be ready to deliver the final blow.*

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