Fort Mose Historic State Park

Fort Mose (pronounced Moh-SAY) was the first legally sanctioned free black community in what is now the United States. Established in 1738 by Spanish Florida's Governor Manuel Montiano, Fort Mose provided refuge for more than 100 African fugitives fleeing from South Carolina to Spanish colonial territory. As Spanish Florida's first line of defense against the British colonies, Mose represents a unique testimony to the courageous African Americans who risked their lives in the long struggle to achieve freedom. Yet for more than 175 years, the remains of the fort and its nearby colony, Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, lay buried from history on a small island in the marsh north of St. Augustine. However, thanks to a combination of efforts by archaeologists, historians, and legislators, a long lost and little-known chapter of America's colonial past has recently been recovered.

Because of Mose's unusual origins and political and military significance, the Spanish documented its history with considerable care. Records show that the first group of fugitives arriving in Fort Mose in 1687 included eight men, two women, and a nursing child. In the following years, word of the Spanish policy of giving religious sanctuary to escaped slaves spread rapidly among the black population in the Carolinas and Georgia, and the number of escapees steadily increased. By 1738, more than 100 Africans had reached St. Augustine, prompting the Spanish government to establish Fort Mose and the nearby community of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose. Thirty-eight households of men, women, and children lived at Mose, learning the language and customs of the English, Indians, and Spanish.

Located just two miles north of St. Augustine, Mose was the Spanish colony's first line of defense against English attack. A free black militia was formed in 1738, headed by Francisco Menendez, an escaped slave who had achieved the rank of Captain in the St. Augustine militia. The original fort was a small, twenty-meter-square enclosure, containing a watchtower, a well, and a guardhouse. With three walls made of earth, stakes, and cactus, the fort was surrounded by a shallow moat and rested on a tidal creek to the east. Residents of Mose came from diverse cultures in the Caribbean and West Africa, and their skilled labor, technology, art, music, ideas, and traditions served as valuable resources to the Spanish residents of nearby St. Augustine.

-- Story by Robbi Burgi from Florida History & The Arts Magazine

The Battle of Fort Mose

War was declared between Spain and Britain in September 1739. The North American colonies became involved when General James Oglethorpe, founder and governor of the new British colony of Georgia, marched on St. Augustine in May 1740. For the attack, he brought a combined force that included the British 42nd Regiment, the Highland (Scottish) Independent Company Foot, South Carolina Militia, Georgia volunteers, and Indian allies. At the approach, the inhabitants of Fort Mose were evacuated to the safer St. Augustine. The British overran the outlying fort and settled in on Anastasia Island to bombard the Castillo de San Marcos.

In June Oglethorpe sent out a light armed forced of 137 to intercept Spaniards foraging for food and horses outside the city. These British troops set up camp at the abandoned Fort Mose. Colonel John Palmer of South Carolina had operational control, but because Palmer was a volunteer—not a commissioned officer—Captain Hugh Mackay of Georgia held actual command of the troops. Conflicts between the two leaders as well as general mistrust between the Carolinians and the Georgians contributed to the British rout.

Colonel Palmer had experience fighting Yamassee Indians, who were Spanish allies. Because he knew the Yamassee often attacked just before dawn, he roused the men every morning at 3:00 a.m. After standing to arms for a time, they would return to sleep. The stage was set for the events of the morning of June 26, 1740, which the British called "Bloody Mose."

The black militia were included in the Spanish forces, and Francisco Menendez was commended for his valor and leadership. The British siege having failed, Oglethorpe retreated back to Georgia.

The Second Fort Mose

The Fort Mose settlers lived inside St. Augustine until 1752, when their fort and town were re-built. The site included a church, a house for a priest, a well, a lookout tower, and 22 homes for the black families. They prospered there until 1763, when Florida was ceded to Britain by treaty. The Fort Mose blacks evacuated with the other Spanish citizens to the northwest coast of Cuba.

The Fort Mose Site Today

Now, more than 250 years later, the remains of Fort Mose are as fragile as were the freedoms of its long-ago villagers. Time and tide have reduced Fort Mose to remnant sections of ground-level shellstone foundations. Rising sea levels and dredging have turned the Mose site into an island in the saltwater marsh.

The Florida Park Service and the Fort Mose Historical Society, a citizen-support organization, are working to spread the story of Fort Mose and its free residents. They are acquiring land to improve access and expand facilities for the public, so you may experience the fort site while protecting the archaeological remains and the environment.

Battlefields teach us about some of the most important events in our nation’s history. They commemorate the sacrifices made by our ancestors and connect us to our past. There is much we can learn from visiting and studying battlefields.

For more information on how you can help support Fort Mose, contact:
Anastasia State Park
1340A A1A South
St. Augustine, Florida 32080
904.461.2000

Or visit the Fort Mose Historical Society’s website:
www.fortmose.org