https://fortmose.org/about-fort-mose/
The Beginnings of Fort Mose
More than
300 years ago, courageous Africans escaped from enslavement in British
colonies. They fled southward on foot to Spanish St. Augustine, crossing swamps
and dense tropical forests. Along they way, they sought assistance from
Natives, thus creating the first ‘underground railroad’.
Not all
survived. Those who reached St. Augustine were granted asylum by the Spanish
government. It was a unique offer—freedom, in exchange for conversion to
Catholicism and, for men, a term of military service.
The first
freedom seekers arrived in 1687. This group included eight men, two women and a
three-year-old nursing child.
By 1738,
more than 100 freedom seekers had achieved asylum. In that year, a fortified
town named Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose was constructed on St.
Augustine’s northernmost border. Fort Mose became the site of the first free
black community in what is now the United States.
A formerly
enslaved African led the free black militia of Fort Mose. His name was Captain
Francisco Menéndez. For years, the warriors valiantly protected St. Augustine.
However, when Spain ceded all of La Florida to England in 1763, the citizens of
Fort Mose once again faced enslavement. They abandoned the fort and sought
safety in Spanish Cuba.
Over the
years, the Fort Mose site was swallowed by marsh, and the important legacy of
its community was largely forgotten.
Late in the
twentieth century, a highly dedicated team of archaeologists, historians,
government leaders and committed citizens helped restore Fort Mose to its
rightful place of honor. Today, Fort Mose is recognized as a significant local,
national and international historic landmark.