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By Craig Swain, August 1, 2011 | |
| | | 1. General Biassou House Marker | | |
Inscription. Here on this site, 42 St. George Street, stood the home of the nation's first Black general, Jorge Biassou, who came to St. Augustine from his native Haiti in 1796 as a member of the Spanish military.
Biassou was one of the original leaders of the 1791 slave uprising in Haiti, and for his service to the Spanish against the French he became a Spanish general and was sent to St. Augustine as the colony's second highest-paid official. In addition to his home here in the center of the city, Biassou had a plantation north of town.
In St. Augustine, Biassou was placed in command of the free Black militia that guarded the southern approach to the city at Fort Matanzas, and at the pioneer free Black settlement that formed the northern defense at St. Augustine at Fort Mose. Today Fort Matanzas is part of the National Park Service and Fort Mose is a Florida State Historic State Park.
General Biassou died in 1801 and was buried in the Tolomato Cemetery on Cordova Street following his funeral held in St. Augustine's Catholic Cathedral Basilica.
The building on this site is a reconstruction of General Biassou's home built in 1962 as part of the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine.
Many delegations, including members of Haiti's international diplomatic corps and members of the Haitian | | | | 
By Craig Swain, August 1, 2011 | |
| | | 2. General Biassou House and Marker | | |
American Historical Society, have made pilgrimages to St. Augustine to visit sites associated with our first Black general, Jorge Biassou.
Erected by City of St. Augustine.
Location. 29° 53.84′ N, 81° 18.808′ W. Marker is in St. Augustine, Florida, in Saint Johns County. Marker is on St. George Street, on the right when traveling north. Click for map. St. George Street is closed to vehicle traffic. Marker is at or near this postal address: 42 St. George Street, Saint Augustine FL 32084, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Minorcan Heritage (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); Huguenot Cemetery (about 300 feet away); Public Burying Ground (about 400 feet away); Casa Avero (about 400 feet away); Los Floridanos (about 400 feet away); Tolomato Cemetery (about 500 feet away); The Rosario Defense Line (about 500 feet away); Santo Domingo Redoubt (about 500 feet away). Click for a list of all markers in St. Augustine.
Also see . . . General Jorge Biassou. (Submitted on August 31, 2011, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)
Credits. This page originally submitted on August 31, 2011, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 187 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 31, 2011, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.
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