BREAKING GR
Fort Mose Reconstruction Project On
by Teddy
January 19, 2024, will go down in St. Augustine’ s modern history as a momentous day decades in the making. Dignitaries, including journalists, historians, archaeologists and the like, came together beneath a tent and mist-laden skies to commemorate a groundbreaking and ribbon cutting at Fort Mose- the first legally sanctioned free Black settlement in what is now the United States.
From 1687 to 1763, the formerly enslaved Africans who journeyed some 377 miles enjoyed freedom. But after Spain ceded all of La Florida to England in 1763, the residents of Fort Mose once again faced enslavement. The fort gradually succumbed to the Florida marsh, and the accompanying legacy of those courageous Africans fell into relative obscurity, its story often left untold. Some of this obscurity can be tied to a language barrier. Vanderbilt University professor of history- Dr. Jean Landers * was present for the groundbreaking. She shared this insight:“ All the [ source ] material is in Spanish.” So, the added step of translation may have contributed to limited notoriety until now. With the help of Dr. Landers’ efforts, the story of Fort Mose has been published in college textbooks.
The existing Fort Mose museum, currently situated near St. Augustine’ s city gates, has long been the site of many field trips and touristic visits. But now, at long last, visitors will no longer depart from Fort Mose asking,“ Where is the fort?” A tribute to the freedom seekers will be built- joining the likes of Fort
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