Fredonia (Texas)

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Fredonia was the name of a proposed republic in Texas, in the region near Nacogdoches where Haden Edwards had a land grant.

Following conflict with newer settlers and the Mexican government, Edwards proposed secession to retain control of his grant, and enlisted in the scheme Cherokee chief Richard Fields and John Dunn Hunter, a white who had been captured by the Osage Nation as a child and who was devoted to the cause of establishing an Indian nation. A Committee of Independence was formed on December 21, 1826, complete with a signed declaration. A flag of red and white, representing the two races, was created. Inscribed on the banner was the motto, 'Independence, Freedom, and Justice.'

Stephen F. Austin opposed the scheme and supported the Mexican military that was sent to settle the rebellion, and the Cherokees declined to actively support the venture. On January 31, 1827, the rebels fled the oncoming military, with Fields and Hunter being slain by the Indians.

[edit] External links

• The Fredonian Declaration of Independence, 1826 from Gammel's Laws of Texas, Vol. I. hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Fredonian Rebellion from the Handbook of Texas Online