Francisco Menéndez: Commander of First Free Black Military Unit in North America

Francisco Menéndez, a Mandinka-born man who had been enslaved in South Carolina before escaping to Spanish Florida, was appointed captain of the Fort Mose militia in 1738 — commanding the first legally recognized free Black military unit in North American history. He led his unit in repelling a British attack at the Battle of Fort Mose in 1740, and continued to serve as a military leader and privateer. His life documents extraordinary agency and leadership under extraordinary circumstances.