Fredonian Rebellion - Conflict

Conflict

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. On November 22, 1826, local 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. These actions benefitted Parmer personally; several weeks before, 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.

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 previously, 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.

On December 16, the Edwards brothers invaded Nacogdoches with only 30 settlers, seizing one building in town, the Old Stone Fort. On December 21, they declared the former Edwards colony to be a new republic named Fredonia. Within hours of the announcement, the Fredonians signed a peace treaty with the Cherokee, represented by Chief Richard Fields and John Dunn Hunter. Fields and Hunter claimed to represent an additional 23 other tribes and promised to provide 400 warriors. In recognition of the agreement, above the Old Stone Fort flew a new flag containing two stripes–one red, one white–representing the two races. Inscribed on the banner was the motto, "Independence, Liberty, and Justice". Haden Edwards also sent messengers to Louisiana to request aid from the United States military, which refused to intervene. Another emissary sent to invite Austin and his colonists to join the rebellion garnered the rebuke, "You are deluding yourselves and this delusion will ruin you."

Edwards's actions disturbed many of his colonists due to either their loyalty to their adopted country or fear of his alliance with the Cherokee. Mexican authorities were also concerned with the Cherokee alliance, and both Peter Ellis Bean, the Mexican Indian agent, and Saucedo, the political chief, began negotiations with Fields. They explained to the Cherokee that the tribe had not followed proper procedures to attain a land grant and promised that if they reapplied through official channels the Mexican government would honor their land request. These arguments and a planned Mexican military response convinced many Cherokee to repudiate the treaty with Edwards.

On news of the November arrest of the alcalde, the Mexican government began preparing to retaliate. On December 11, Lieutenant Colonel Mateo Ahumada, the military commander in Texas, marched from San Antonio de Béxar with 110 infantry, and initially stopped in Austin's colony to assess the loyalty of his settlers. On January 1, Austin announced to his colonists that "infatuated madmen at Nacogdoches have declared independence." Much of his colony immediately volunteered to assist in quelling the rebellion. When the Mexican army left for Nacogdoches on January 22, they were joined by 250 militiamen from Austin's colony.

Impatient with the army response time, Norris led 80 men to retake the Old Stone Fort. Although Parmer had fewer than 20 supporters with him, his men routed Norris's force in less than ten minutes. On January 31, Bean, accompanied by 70 militiamen from Austin's colony, rode into Nacogdoches. By this time, Parmer and Edwards had learned that the Cherokee had abandoned any intention of waging war against Mexico. When not a single Cherokee warrior had appeared to reinforce the revolt, Edwards and his supporters fled. Bean pursued them to the Sabine River, but most, including both Edwards brothers, safely crossed into the United States. Ahumade and his soldiers, accompanied by political chief Saucedo, entered Nacogdoches on February 8 to restore order.

Although the Cherokee had not raised arms against Mexico, their treaty with the Fredonian revolutionaries caused Mexican authorities to question the tribe's loyalty. To demonstrate their loyalty to Mexico, the Cherokee council ordered both Fields and Hunter to be executed. Under tribal law, certain offenses such as aiding an enemy of the tribe were punishable by death. By sentencing Fields and Hunter to death for this reason, the Cherokee affirmed that Edwards and his cohorts were their enemies. Both men fled, but were soon captured and executed. When the executions were reported to Mexican authorities on February 28, the commandant general of the Eastern Interior Provinces, Anastasio Bustamante, praised the Cherokee for their prompt action.

Bustamante ultimately offered a general amnesty for all who participated in the conflict except for Haden and Benjamin Edwards, Martin Parmer, and Adolphus Sterne, a local merchant who had provided supplies to the rebel force. Like the Edwards brothers, Parmer escaped into Louisiana. Sterne remained and was sentenced to death for treason but was paroled on the condition that he swear allegiance to Mexico and never again take up arms against the Mexican government.