The Fredonian Rebellion or Texan revolt of 1826 (December 21, 1826 – January 31, 1827) was the first attempt by Texans to secede from Mexico. The settlers, led by Empresario Haden Edwards, declared independence from Mexican Texas and created the Republic of Fredonia near Nacogdoches. The short-lived republic encompassed the land the Mexican government had granted to Edwards in 1825 and included areas that had been previously settled. Edwards's actions soon alienated the established residents, and the increasing hostilities between them and settlers recruited by Edwards led Víctor Blanco of the Mexican government to revoke Edwards's contract.
In late December 1826, a group of Edwards's supporters took control of the region by arresting and removing from office several municipality officials affiliated with the established residents. Supporters declared their independence from Mexico. Although the nearby Cherokee tribe initially signed a treaty to support the new republic because a prior agreement with the Mexican government negotiated by Chief Richard Fields was ignored, overtures from Mexican authorities and respected empresario, Stephen F. Austin, convinced tribal leaders to repudiate the rebellion. On January 31, 1827, a force of over 100 Mexican soldiers and 275 Texian Militia marched into Nacogdoches to restore order. Haden Edwards and his brother Benjamin Edwards fled to the United States. Chief Fields was killed by his own tribe. A local merchant was arrested and sentenced to death but later paroled.
The rebellion led Mexican president Guadalupe Victoria to increase the military presence in the area. As a result, several hostile tribes in the area halted their raids on settlements and agreed to a peace treaty. The Comanche abided by this treaty for many years. Fearing that, through the rebellion, the United States hoped to gain control of Texas, the Mexican government severely curtailed immigration to the region from the US. The new immigration law was bitterly opposed by colonists and caused increasing dissatisfaction with Mexican rule. Some historians consider the Fredonian Rebellion to be the beginning of the Texas Revolution. In the words of one historian, the rebellion was "premature, but it sparked the powder for later success".Bates (1956), p. 494.
Background After winning independence in 1821, several of Spain's colonies in the New World joined together to create a new country, Mexico. The country divided itself into several states, and the area known as Mexican Texas became part of the border state Coahuila y Tejas. To assist in governing the large area, the state created several departments; all of Texas was included in the Department of Béxar. The department was further subdivided into municipalities, which were each governed by an alcalde, similar to a modern-day mayor.Ericson (2000), p. 33. A large portion of East Texas, ranging from the Sabine to the Trinity rivers and from the Gulf Coast to the Red River, became part of the municipality of Nacogdoches.Ericson (2000), p. 35. Most residents of the municipality were Spanish-speaking families who had occupied their land for generations.Davis (2006), p. 70. An increasing number were English-speaking residents who had immigrated illegally during the Mexican War of Independence. Many of the immigrants were adventurers who had arrived as part of various military filibustering groups, which had attempted to create independent republics within Texas during Spanish rule.The most prominent of the filibustering groups were the Long Expedition and the Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition.
For better control of the sparsely populated border region, in 1824 the Mexican federal government passed the General Colonization Law to allow legal immigration into Texas. Under the law, each state would set its own requirements for immigration. After some debate, on March 24, 1825, Coahuila y Tejas authorized a system granting land to empresarios, who would each recruit settlers for their particular colony. In addition, for every 100 families an empresario settled in Texas, they would receive 23,000 acres of land to cultivate and settle on. During the state government's deliberations, many would-be empresarios congregated in Mexico to lobby for land grants. Among them was Haden Edwards, an American land speculator known for his quick temper and aggressiveness.Ericson (2000), p. 37. Despite his abrasiveness, Edwards was granted a colonization contract on April 14McDonald. allowing him to settle 800 families in East Texas. The contract contained standard language requiring Edwards to recognize all pre-existing Spanish and Mexican land titles in his grant area, to raise a militia to protect the settlers in the area and to allow the state land commissioner to certify all deeds awarded.
Edwards's colony encompassed the land from the Navasota River to 20 leagues west of the Sabine River, and from 20 leagues north of the Gulf of Mexico to 15 leagues north of the town of Nacogdoches. To the west and north of the colony were lands controlled by several Native tribes that had recently been driven out of the United States. The southern boundary was a colony overseen by Stephen F. Austin, the son of the first empresario in Texas. East of Edwards's grant was the former Sabine Free State, a neutral zone, which had been essentially lawless for several decades.Ericson (2000), p. 36. The boundaries of the new colony and the municipality of Nacogdoches partially overlapped, leading to uncertainty over who had jurisdiction over which function. The majority of the established settlers lived outside the eastern boundary of the Edwards colony.
Prelude Edwards arrived in Nacogdoches in August 1825. Mistakenly believing that he had the authority to determine the validity of existing land claims,Ericson (2000), p. 38. Edwards demanded written proof of ownership in September or the land would be forfeited and sold at auction. His action was at least partially driven by prejudice; Edwards scorned those who were poorer or of a different race. By removing less-prosperous settlers, he could assign their lands to wealthy planters, like himself, from the Southern United States.
Very few of the English-speaking residents had valid titles. Those who had not arrived as filibusters had been duped by fraudulent land speculators.Samora et al. (1993), p. 79. Most of the Spanish-speaking landowners had lived on grants made to their families 70 or more years previously and were unable to produce any paperwork. Anticipating the potential conflict between the new empresario and the long-time residents of the area, the acting alcalde of the municipality, Luis Procela, and the municipality clerk, Jose Antonio Sepulveda, began validating old Spanish and Mexican land titles, a function legally assigned to the state land commissioner. In response, Edwards accused the men of forging deeds, further angering the residents.Ericson (2000), pp. 38–39.
By December 1825, Edwards had recruited 50 families to emigrate from the United States. As required under his contract, Edwards organized a Texian Militia company open to his colonists and established residents. When militia members elected Sepulveda as their captain, Edwards nullified the results and proclaimed himself head of the militia company. After that debacle, Edwards, acting outside his authority, called for elections for a new alcalde.Ericson (2000), p. 39. Two men were nominated for the position—Edwards's son-in-law, Chichester Chaplin, seen as the representative for the newly-arrived immigrants, and Samuel Norris, an American who had married the daughter of a long-time resident and was sympathetic to the more-established landowners. After Chaplin's victory, many settlers alleged vote-stacking in an appeal to Juan Antonio Saucedo, the political chief of the Department of Béxar. In March, Saucedo overturned the election results and proclaimed Norris the winner. Edwards refused to recognize Norris's authority.
Shortly after Saucedo's ruling, Edwards left to recruit more settlers from the United States, leaving his younger brother, Benjamin, in charge of the colony. Benjamin could not maintain stability in the colony, and the situation deteriorated rapidly. A vigilante group of earlier settlers harassed many newcomers, and Benjamin made several complaints to state authorities. Unhappy with his tone and the increasing tension, Mexican authorities revoked the land grant in October and instructed the Edwards brothers to leave Mexico.Ericson (2000), p. 40. Rumors that Haden Edwards had returned to the United States to raise an army and not just to recruit settlers likely influenced the government's action.Everett (1995), p. 43. Unwilling to abandon his $50,000 (about $ as of ) investment in the colony, Haden Edwards rejoined his brother in Nacogdoches in late October, continuing their business affairs despite the cancellation of his colonization contract.Bates (1956), p. 493.Everett (1995), p. 44.
Conflict “ It appears as tho. the people in your quarter have run mad or worse. ”excerpt from a letter Stephen F. Austin wrote to Haden Edwards, after some of Edwards's men invaded NacogdochesDavis (2006), p. 71. In October, Norris ruled that Edwards had improperly taken land from an existing settler to give to a new immigrant. Norris evicted the immigrant, angering many of the colonists. Later that month, another new immigrant was arrested and ordered to leave the country after refusing to purchase a merchant license before trading with the Indian tribes.Jackson (2005), p. 62. On November 22, 1826, local Texian Militia colonel Martin Parmer and 39 other Edwards colonists entered Nacogdoches and arrested Norris, Sepulveda, and the commander of the small Mexican garrison, charging them with oppression and corruption. Haden Edwards was also arrested for violating his expulsion order but was immediately paroled, possibly as a ploy to disguise his own involvement in the plot. A kangaroo court found the other men guilty, removed them from their positions, and banned them from ever holding another public office. The court disbanded after appointing a temporary alcalde.Ericson (2000), p. 41. The actions benefitted Parmer personally; several weeks earlier, after Parmer killed a man in a dispute, Norris had issued a warrant for Parmer's arrest. With Norris removed from office, the arrest warrant was voided.Jackson (2005), p. 71.
Throughout the fall, Benjamin Edwards had tried to gather support from the Edwards colonists for a potential armed revolt against Mexican authority. Largely unsuccessful, he approached the nearby Cherokee tribe for assistance. Several years earlier, the tribe had applied for title to the lands they occupied in northern East Texas. They were promised but never given a deed from the Mexican authorities. Benjamin Edwards offered the tribe clear title to all of Texas north of Nacogdoches in exchange for armed support for his plans.Everett (1995), p. 45.