St. Johns County’s Fort Mose Hosts Navy Re-Enlistment Ceremony

• 30 October 2025
• Category: SJC News

The event featured special presentations by the U.S. Navy and re-enactments by the Fort Mose Militia

On September 26, 2025, Fort Mose was the site for St. Johns County resident Taurean Wong’s re-enlistment ceremony into the United States Navy. Wong has been on active duty since 2019 and is currently a Fire Controlman Aegis Petty Officer First Class in the Advanced Electronics Computer Field. The County’s Office of Public Affairs ​produced a video​ to capture the event.

Wong serves on DDG 68 USS The Sullivans and was named 2024 Junior Sailor of the Year and elected the ship’s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation program president.

“FCA1 is an integral member of USS The Sullivans, and we are grateful to have him on board. Taurean always shows up with a smile on his face and embodies our We Stick Together motto: always looking out for others and being a helping hand,” said Cmdr. Mathew B. Rechkemmer.

The re-enlistment ceremony was hosted by Charles Ellis, President of the Fort Mose Historical Society.

Fort Mose Historic State Park is the site of the first legally sanctioned free African settlement in what is now the United States. In 1738, the Spanish governor of Florida chartered the settlement of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, or Fort Mose for short, as a settlement for those fleeing slavery from the English colonies in the Carolinas. Its existence in the community assisted St. Johns County in its successful application to become the location of Florida’s Black History Museum.

Fort Mose has been recognized as a National Historic Landmark since 1994. In 2009, the National Park Service titled Fort Mose a precursor site of the National Underground Railroad Network.