The Fredonia Rebellion
December 16, 1826 to January 28, 1827
For a brief while, the flag that flew over Nacogdoches Plaza Principal was the red-and-white banner of Haden Edwards' forty-four-day Fredonia Rebellion.
Edwards had obtained a grant from Mexico to settle 800 families in East Texas in the Nacogdoches area. Unfortunately for him, much of the land had already been settled - legally and illegally - by the early Spanish, by Indians, and by Anglo squatters. Edwards' intrusion caused such a disturbance that the Mexican government revoked his grant.
Disappointed over the loss of his grant, on December 16, 1826, Haden and his brother Benjamin rode into Nacogdoches, planted their flag in front of the Stone Fort, and proclaimed the Republic of Fredonia. They had formed an uncertain alliance with the Cherokees, thus the reason for the red and white colors of the flag. The flag carried the words "Independence Freedom and Justice" and the signatures of sixteen of the original Fredonians.
The name "Fredonia" had been coined in the early days of the American republic and was poetically used, as was the term "Columbia," in reference to the United States, "Fredonia" implied "a place of freedom."
The Fredonian army consisted of no more than thirty men. Their Cherokees allies deserted them. Stephen F. Austin raised a militia to put down the East Texas rebellion. And Mexico sent troops from San Antonio to disperse them.
The Fredonians gave up their cause on January 28, 1827, and retreated eastward across the Sabine.
Marker is on Main Street (Texas Route 21/7) near Fredonia Street, on the right when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
