Long Road to Texas Independence

The Eagle shows the territory of US in 1833,
after the Adams-Onis Treaty

In 1819, the United States formally abandoned any claim to the territory of Texas through the Adams-Onis Treaty.  That treaty upset many US citizens in Louisiana and Mississippi who believed that the territory conveyed in the Louisiana Purchase (1803) include parts of East Texas.  James Long of Natchez,  Mississippi was particularly pissed.  In June of 1819, Long and Eli Harris led an "expedition" to Nacogdoches, New Spain. Thanks to the fact that rapid mass troop transport had not yet been invented, Long and Harris successfully established the first (?) Republic of Texas. On the noble side of the revolution, the citizens of the Long Republic promoted religious freedom, tolerance and freedom of the press. On the more traditional side of revolutions, each member of the "expedition" received 10 acres of land for their sacrifice.  Long attempted to enlist the assistance of pirate Jean Lafitte, promising to appointment Lafitte governor of Galveston.  What did Long learn?  Don't trust pirates.  After accepting the governorship, Lafitte "traded" the information about Long's revolution to the Spanish who had not yet realized that a small portion of the empire had been usurped.  Shortly thereafter, 500 Spanish troops arrived at Galveston and drove Long and his expedition back to Louisiana.  The Long Republic lasted four months.  The flag of the Long Republic was red with a single white star in the middle.