Nine Flags of Nacogdoches
Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Throughout the storied history of Nacogdoches, nine different flags have flown over the region. The six flags of Texas are well known, but three others have also been raised. The traditional six flags include those for Spain (1519 – 1685; 1690 – 1821), France (1685 – 1690), Mexico (1821 – 1836), the Republic of Texas (1836 – 1845), the United States of America (1845 – 1861; 1865 – present) and the Confederate States of America (1861 – 1865). The earliest of the other flags was an emerald banner for the Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition (1812 – 1813). Lt. Augustus Magee and Col. Bernardo Gutiérrez organized an army which controlled territory east of San Antonio. However, Gutiérrez lost support, a Mexican force regained San Antonio, and the army disbanded. Another flag contained red and white stripes with one white star on a red field, representing the Long Republic (1819). Col. James long set up a government from Nacogdoches, which fell to Spanish forces; he was later captured and killed. The final of the three flags was red and white, and inscribed with the words, “Independence, Freedom and Justice.” It belonged to the Republic of Fredonia (1826 – 1827). Empresario Haden H. Edwards proclaimed a new republic following the Mexican Revocation of his colonial charter. When he failed to enlist aid, Edwards fled, ending the rebellion. Nacogdoches has been a gateway to Texas for hundreds of years, not only for settlers but also for ideals. The nine flags of Nacogdoches represent revolutionary activity that was essential to the spirit of Texas. In 1997, residents began celebrating the nine flags festival, which commemorates the city’s importance as a center of freedom and a community vital to Texas history.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A frontier gateway for centuries, Nacogdoches has flown nine flags rather than the six familiar to Texas history. Beyond Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States, and the Confederacy, three short-lived banners rose from failed bids for independence: the emerald flag of the 1812-13 Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition, the star-and-stripes of James Long's 1819 republic, and the red-and-white flag of Haden Edwards's 1826-27 Republic of Fredonia. Each rebellion collapsed, but together they marked the town as a crucible of revolutionary ferment on the Texas frontier.
Why it matters
The nine flags capture how the contested Texas-Louisiana borderland became a staging ground for the filibusters and revolts that led toward Texas independence.
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Related people
- · Bernardo Gutiérrez
- · Augustus Magee
- · James Long
- · Haden Edwards
Related events
- · Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition
- · Long Expedition
- · Fredonian Rebellion
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Sam Houston's First Home in Texas
Nacogdoches, TX
When Sam Houston left Washington for Texas in late 1832, he chose Nacogdoches as his first home, drawn by fellow Tennesseans and Masons like Adolphus Sterne and Henry Raguet. He boarded with the Sternes, set up a law practice, and was baptized Catholic so he could own property under Mexican law. From here he was elected a delegate to the conventions that led toward revolution, and his lifelong friendship with Thomas J. Rusk — later a fellow Texas senator — was forged in this town.
General Thomas J. Rusk
Nacogdoches, TX
Remembered as a patriot, soldier, statesman, and jurist, Thomas J. Rusk fought for Texas independence at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. The South Carolina native made Nacogdoches his home and gave much of his life to the young Republic and, later, the state. This monument, raised by the State of Texas, bears the simple tribute that "He lived for Texas."
John S. Roberts
Nacogdoches, TX
Once a sheriff in Natchitoches, Louisiana, John S. Roberts threw himself into the Texas cause, helping lead the 1832 Battle of Nacogdoches and commanding the Nacogdoches company in the 1835 storming of Bexar. He served in the 1835 Consultation and signed the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836. A Virginia native, he lived out his years in the town he had fought for, dying in 1871.
Haden Edwards
Nacogdoches, TX
A Virginia-born empresario, Haden Edwards received a contract to settle American families around Nacogdoches but fell into bitter conflict with Mexican authorities and existing residents. In 1826-27 he led the short-lived Fredonian Rebellion, an early and premature bid for Anglo independence in Texas that collapsed quickly. A decade later, during the Texas Revolution, he was sent to the United States to raise funds for the cause.