There now is a fort at Fort Mose Historic State Park in St. Augustine.In comparison to Castillo de San Marcos, the massive fort a few miles to the south, it’s a small structure. And it isn’t the original fort, dating back to when Fort Mose was established in 1738 as the first legally sanctioned free Black community in what would become the United States.That fort was destroyed, then rebuilt, then swallowed by the marsh centuries ago, seemingly along with the story it told.That’s why a ribbon-cutting for this fort — a historical reconstruction of what stood here nearly 300 years ago — was a big day. It was a big day for Florida State Parks and numerous partners. Chuck Hatcher, the state parks director, was there, along with dozens of rangers. Robert Yero, bureau chief for District 3, led the ceremonies and said: “Today, I believe, is one of the most momentous and significant days in the 90-year history of the Florida State Parks.”
It was a big day for St. Augustine, a city that prides itself on a story older than the United States.And, perhaps most of all, it was a big day for the people who — in the years since the original site of the fort was uncovered in a 1986 archeological dig — have been unearthing and retelling the Fort Mose story. With a National Historic Landmark designation in 1994. With a museum in 2008. With books, reenactments and now this, a fort.
“What a day, what a day, what a day,” Charles Ellis, a founder member and current president of the Fort Mose Historical Society, said to the more than 200 people who gathered and saw before them what Ellis described as so much more than walls, a roof and landscaping.“This fort stands as a testament to a story that must be told,” he said.Because of this, Ellis said, when fourth- and fifth-grade students visit Fort Mose, they no longer will have to ask the most common question: “Where’s the fort?”
‘It’s American history’
Archaeologist Kathleen Deagan recalled first coming here 50 years ago as a University of Florida student. She and historian Jane Landers have spent decades digging up — literally and figuratively — the forgotten history of enslaved people who escaped British plantations in the Carolinas and made their way to St. Augustine.Together, Deagan and Landers wrote a statement that appeared in the ribbon-cutting program. It said, in part: “Despite its historic importance, Mose and its message are relatively unknown to most Americans. Creating a physical representation of the original lost fort will visibly and compellingly bring this dramatic history to life for a broad range of our citizenry.”
When Deagan spoke, she said: “It’s not just Black history, it’s not Spanish history, it’s our history. It’s American history,”One of the people who has been bringing that history to life for years is James Bullock.Bullock, 70, didn’t grow up knowing the story of Fort Mose. But he not only knows it now, he’s been helping to tell it for about 20 years, leading tours and playing the role of Capt. Francisco Menendez, who helped found Fort Mose.At the start of this event, when the gates to the fort opened and two rows of reenactors marched out, Bullock as Menendez called out: “Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with the Fort Mose militia. Viva Mose!”The crowd responded, “Viva Mose!”
Long live Mose (Moh-say).After the speeches and ribbon-cuttings and photos, there was a ceremonial musket and cannon firing. Fireworks exploded over the Tolomato River. And then people began to enter the fort.Bullock called out to fellow reenactors, motioning for them to head into the fort, welcoming them “home.”
For those involved, the emotions of the day weren’t simply acting. And standing inside the fort, Bullock was asked if when he spoke of “home,” he was speaking in character, or as himself.“Sometimes that’s a really thin line,” he said, “especially when I’m here dressed this way.”Bullock said he pictures the people who came here about 285 years ago — people who had been removed from their homes, enslaved far from home, then escaped and traveled across many miles and rivers to reach this spot — walking through those gates, feeling safe and free. Feeling home.
A good month for Florida State Parks
There also is the modern-day context of this day.It has been a good month for Florida State Parks. And not just because the Florida Park Service, the only four-time winner of a national gold medal for state parks, found out it has been named as a finalist, along with Ohio and Wyoming, for the 2025 award.The Florida legislature passed a bill to protect state parks from what was attempted last year, when the DeSantis administration tried to push through a plan to build everything from golf courses to big hotels in state parks. And the governor, who quickly distanced himself from that plan last year, said he will sign the bill.So in 2025, Florida isn’t building golf courses in state parks. But it has built a fort in one. In a year when pieces of Black history have been erased in the name of dismantling DEI, the decades-long dream of reconstructing Fort Mose finally came to fruition.Viva Mose.Viva our parks.
mwoods@jacksonville.com
(904) 359-4212
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Viva Mose! We’re not building golf courses in state parks. But we did build a fort in one
Reporting by Mark Woods, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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