1812 – Forces from the Patriot Army set up camp in East Florida on Rose’s Bluff near the St. Mary’s river. This ragtag Patriot army, comprised mostly of Georgians, set out to invade, occupy and overtake the Spanish forces at St. Augustine, thus claiming the territory for the United States. The Spanish had very weak control of its borders and the Patriots believed they could muster popular support amongst the East Florida population and start a revolution, but that reality never came to fruition. The group was unofficially supported by then President James Monroe, although when the military efforts reached a stalemate, no major American military support emerged. The group established its own de facto government, even writing its own constitution until finally giving up efforts to take St. Augustine and retreating in 1814. The conflict is commonly associated with the broader War of 1812 between the United States and Britain, but it was a separate conflict with separate goals. The only known copy of the original Patriot Constitution is held at the FHS Library of Florida History in Cocoa, but digital copies are available through the State Archive of Florida’s Florida Memory website.