Francisco Menéndez (black soldier)

Francisco Menéndez (before 1709 – after 1763) was a notable free Black militiaman who served the Spanish Empire in Florida during the 18th-century. He was a leader of Fort Mose, the first free Black settlement in North America.

Born in The Gambia in West Africa, Menéndez was captured and sold into slavery, being purchased by European slave traders and shipped across the Atlantic to Carolina. He escaped into the Spanish province of Florida soon after, taking advantage of Spanish legislation promising freedom to all fugitive slaves from the Southern colonies. Menéndez converted to Catholicism and enlisted in the colonial militia, settling down in a settlement created for free people of color by the Spanish authorities. Participating in numerous conflicts on the side of the Spanish Crown, Menéndez was recognized by the Spanish Crown for his loyalty and courage through the numerous conflicts he participated in. Francisco was also recognized as the founder of San Agustín de la Nueva Florida, a village in Cuba.

Fort Mose has since been designated as a National Historic Landmark, as it was the first legal free Black community in what is now the United States.