In honor of the important African American heritage of this community, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument will host a special evening event made possible through a partnership with the Fort Mose Historical Society and the Florida Park Service.

In this special partnership, volunteers bring to life the important legacy of Fort Mose as the first legally sanctioned free African settlement in what would become the United States. Follow the dangerous journey of a Freedom Seeker escaping from a life in slavery to a new life of freedom in Spanish Florida. Overhear the conversations of people met along the way – some hoping to help the Freedom Seeker, others hoping to return the slave to owners in the English colonies to the north. Meet Governor Montiano and hear his reasons for establishing this important settlement, and learn how Fort Mose and its militia played a critical role in turning the tide of the 1740 British siege on St. Augustine.

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument preserves the oldest fortification in the continental United States, a unique specimen of Spanish military architecture and engineering, related cultural resources, and their architectural, political, and social history. Learn more at www.nps.gov/casa and visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/CastilloNPS and Twitter www.twitter.com/CastilloNPS.

Fort Mose Historic State Park, designated as a National Historic Landmark, preserves the site of the first legally sanctioned free African settlement in what is now the United States. Learn more at www.floridastateparks.org/park/Fort-Mose.