Texas Almanac, 1947-1948 Page: 97
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
nation, but dissension arose among the mem-
bers of the expedition and the capable Gutier-
iez was deposed from leadership. The Re-
publican Army of the North finally met defeat
at the Battle of Medina on the Medina River
southwest of San Antonio, Aug 18, 1813. in
an extraordinarily bloody conflict in w hich
most of the 2,000 or 3.000 member s of the
expedition wei e massacred by the royalist
forces under General Arredondo. After the
battle, Arredondo established himself at San
Antonio and diiected a slaughter of Texas
adherents of the republican movement, which
constitutes one of the tragic chapters of the
sorrowful chronicle of this era.
Long's Expeditions.
Two expeditions aimed at making Texas
independent were led into Texas by Dr.
James Long of Natchez, Miss , in 1819 and
1821. In the first, Long captured Nacog-
doches and went to Galheston Island to en-
list the aid of the pilate, La Fitte \Vhile
away his followers were defeated and dis-
pelsed He led his second expedition from a
new base at Point Bolivar on Galveston Bay,
and captured Goliad. Later his force was cap-
tured in this town, however Long was sent
captive to Mexico, was paroled in 1822 and
killed shortly afterward. His followers were
later Ieleased.
Though associated with some of the free-
booter element of his day, Dr Long was
undoubtedly motivated by a sincere desire
to free Texas from Spain Mrs. James (Jane
Herbert Wilkinson) Long worked %aliantly
for her husband's cause A marker elected
by the Centennial Control Commission at her
old home near Richmond Texas, proclaims
her the "pioneer of Anglo-American women
in Texas." She is sometimes refueled to as
the *Mother of Texas.
Nolan's Expedition.
A prior but less significant expedition was
that of Philip Nolan, an adventuious char-
acter of the Texas-Louisiana border, in 1800-
01. Nolan had been a successful trader and
had led several expeditions oer the boider
to capture wild horses. He had fallen under
Spanish suspicion in connection with the Burr
conspiracy. In his expedition of 1800-01, osten-
sibly to capture wild horses, he was accom-
panied by only eighteen or twenty men, and
was defeated in a battle with a small force
of Spanish troops on the Brazes, near the
present site of Waco, losing his life in the
conflict His nine surviving followers were
carried to Mexico and one of them, Ephraim
Blackburn, was hanged in 1807 after a long-
delayed decision which awarded death to one
of the prisoners by lot. Only one, Peter Ellis
Bean, is known to have regained his liberty.
Aury and La Fitte.
At the same time adventurers were infest-
ing the eastern border of Texas and trying
their fortunes in westward expeditions, the
Texas coast, notably Galveston Island, be-
came the harbor of pirates. Luis Aury, who.
like Gutierrez, had been an adherent of
Hidalgo, established himself at Galveston
Island and did a successful privateering busi-
ness in 1816, eventually sailing away on an
expedition against Spain in Mexico, where he
met defeat.
He was succeeded by Jean La Ftte, who
had operated his ships pi tor to the War of
1812 out of headquarters off the mouth of the
Mississippi La Fitte's enterprise at Galves-
ton thrived from 1817 until 1821, pri.ateering
against the Spanish commerce in the Gulf
In 1821, however, some of his men attacked
vessels flying the flag of the United States
and his Galveston base was closed by the
United States Navy.
'The City of New Orleans is also sometimes
called the Mother of Texas.V. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ANGLO-
AMERICAN COLONIES.
In 1821, three hundred years after the first
visit of white man to the coast of Texas, the
%ast wilderness between the Rio Grande and
the Sabine was broken by only three out-
posts of civilization-San Antonio, Goliad and
Nacogdoches The promising start that had
been made by the missions had been partly
lost during the period of stagnation between
1793 and 1821. The population did not exceed
7 000 white people. There had been a gen-
eral backsliding among the Christian Indians
and the white population itself was an un-
stable element.
The seat of government at San Antonio was
far removed from Mexico City, and because
of the slow means of communication, the
Governor of Texas was ne%er sure that the
regime under which he had received his com-
mission had not been overthrown. There was
an infiltration of Anglo-Americans across the
eastern border but these until the coming of
Austin's colony wtre largely of the free-
bnoter type On the eastern bolder lay the
"Neutral Ground," haibo in adxenturei s
and serving as headquarters for adventurous
expeditions into the pioince The wide ex-
panse of Texas itself was little better than a
"no man's land."
Moses Austin Visits Texas.
At this point the destiny of Texas pivoted
on the decision of a single man Moses Austin
of Missouri, native of Connecticut who had
been inteiested in lead mining in Virginia
and Missouri came upon hard times and de-
cided to cast his lot with Texas He traveled
fiom his home in Missouri in 1820 to San
Antonio to seek permission to establish a
colony of Americans in Texas.
At San Antonio through the intet cession
of Baron de Bastrop, he was permitted to file
a formal application with the Viceroy of
Mexico. He returned to Missouri overland.
dying from hardships suffered during the trip
soon after reaching his home, but his dying
request was that his son, Stephen F. Austin,
car i v out his plans for establishing the Texas
colony. The father ha d received word lust
before his death that his request of the Span-
ish Government had been granted.
Austin's Colony.
The young man was ell qualified for the
adx enture. A native of Virginia, he had re-
ceted a college education and had joined
his father in t he frontier territory of Mis-
souri. At the time of his father's death he
was in New Orleans studying law. Stephen F
Austin traveled to San Antonioe ofer the
upper road and came to an agreement with
Goernor Matinez relative to the establish-
ment of the colony. This was in August.
1821. and Stephen F. Austin was in his
twenty-eighth year. On his return trip to the
United States he made a detour through the
territory lying between the Colorado and
Brazes below the San Antonio road and chose
this area as the site of his colony.
He had been given permission to settle
300 families and the terms were that "each
head of a family and each single man would
be granted 640 acres with 320 additional acres
allowed for a wife and 160 acres for each
child and 80 acres for each slave " Austin
was to receive 12 c an acre from each set-
tler. with which he was to attend to the
details of surveying, perfecting titles and
advertising the enterprise in the United
States. First settlements were made late in
1821 at Columbus on the Colorado and Wash-
ington-on-the.Brazos.
In the meantime, the separation of Mexico
from Spain deprived the project of legal
status and Austin made a hurried trip to
Mexico City to close a deal with the new
central government Theie he found little but
contusion. Besides the struggle between the
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Texas Almanac, 1947-1948, book, 1947; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117136/m1/99/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.