Fort Mose, << MOH say, >> was a Spanish fort that became the first free Black settlement in what is now the United States. The Spanish founded the fort in northeastern Florida in 1738. It was part of a defensive system for St. Augustine, which at that time was Spain’s military headquarters in North America. Formerly enslaved Black people who had escaped from plantations in British-controlled colonies to the north defended the fort. Spanish authorities granted the escapees freedom. In return, the escapees converted to Catholicism and served the Spanish crown.
People who escaped from slavery began arriving in St. Augustine in the late 1600’s. In 1738, the Spanish established the settlement of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose. The settlement, which lay along a coastal marsh, became known as Fort Mose. The residents at Fort Mose lived in homes with palm thatch roofs. They farmed the nearby land and patrolled the walls of the fort.
In 1740, British forces led by colonial leader James Oglethorpe captured Fort Mose as part of an attack on St. Augustine. The residents of Fort Mose retreated to Fort San Marcos in St. Augustine, which they helped defend against a British siege. A group of Black militiamen and Spanish soldiers stole past the British attackers and recaptured Fort Mose. However, Fort Mose was badly damaged, and its residents stayed in St. Augustine following the British retreat. In 1752, Fort Mose was reestablished on slightly higher ground near the original location.
Spain ruled St. Augustine until 1763, when the British took control of Florida. At that time, the Spanish resettled the inhabitants of Fort Mose––along with most of the Spanish population of Florida––in Cuba.
Today, none of Fort Mose’s original structures remain. Archaeologists with the Florida State Museum rediscovered the site in 1987. Researchers at the site have examined the influence of Spanish, English, Indigenous American, and West African cultures. The site is preserved by Fort Mose Historic State Park.
