Fort Mose soldier
The Birth of Fort Mose
Approximately one hundred free Africans had accumulated in St. Augustine by 1738. Governor
Montiano gave them the vacant Indian grounds of Mose, two miles north of the Castillo de San Marcos. It
would become the northern defense post for St. Augustine. There, the refugees built a walled village,
church and earthen fort. It was named Gracia Real de Santa Theresa de Mose.
The freed black men were obligated to four years of paid military service. In addition, the
residents planted crops, answered to a black mayor, held jobs in St. Augustine, and blended their
various African cultures with that of Spain. They were devoted to protecting their village and the city
that sponsored them. That same year, Governor Montiano opened the solid north wall of St. Augustine with
a gate and drawbridge.
Bloody Mose
The English had long complained to the Spanish, demanding return of the runaways. Before
Governor Montiano's tenure, some Floridians re-sold the slaves to compensate the English. Montiano,
however, enforced the 1693 decree and made the slave sanctuary reliable. Adding this provocation to
the English appetite for Florida land, St. Augustine was on the verge of the most ferocious attack in
its history.
The attack came in 1740, when the Spanish and English crowns went head-to-head over colonial
boundaries. Angry English colonists formed militias and headed to St. Augustine with James Oglethorpe's
regular army. As English troops neared Fort Mose, Governor Montiano evacuated its residents into the
safety of the Castillo. An English militia-mostly farmers seeking their runaway slaves-occupied Fort
Mose as a base to fight from.
"Bloody Moosa" ambush
Two days later, Mose's men returned with some Spaniards to reclaim their fort. They ambushed
the sleeping intruders at four o'clock in the morning. The death counts vary from witness to witness,
but by the end of the attack, the fort was burned and the English survivors ran home to tell about
"Bloody Moosa." The rest of Oglethorpe's troops continued to assault St. Augustine from the harbor, but
the Mose ambush turned the tide. The Spaniards and Africans stood their ground from the Castillo until
Cuban reinforcements sent the English away.
Although St. Augustine was saved from its largest attack ever, Fort Mose was destroyed in
the battle.
Fort Mose in relation to Castillo de San Marcos
Post-war Mose
After Oglethorpe's attack, Mose's rebirth lagged for several years. The Mose militia
continued to serve in Spanish Florida's defense beyond their four-year obligation. Finally, their
village and fort were slowly rebuilt. By 1752, it was up and running solidly again. Its population
remained around one hundred people until it was evacuated for good, when Spain traded Florida to the
English in 1763. That year, the free Africans retained their freedom by accompanying the Spaniards to
Cuba. There, they re-established their community as Ceiba Mocha.
The village of Mose once again sank into the Indian ground below.
Further Reading
- Jane Landers' Fort Mose, 1992.
- Jane Landers' Black Society in Spanish Florida, 1999.
- Kathleen Deagan's Fort Mose, 1995.
Last modified 10-29-08. | 
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