1821 - 1836

Mexico’s Claim to Texas
(1821 – 1836)

Jane Long, A League of her own in a Mexican Province called Tejas

“Stephen F. Austin dared travel to Mexico City in spite of warnings of extreme danger on the trail. Once he reached the capital, he renewed his father’s contract for permission for settlement in Texas. Jane Long was one of only ten women among Austin’s Old 300 colonists who accepted and took charge of land grants under Mexico’s red, white and green flag.” – page 33, Texas Sinners and Revolutionaries, Jane Long and Her Fellow Conspirators by Jack C. Ramsay, Jr.

© - Copyright, Jack C. Ramsay, Jr. 2001

La Bandera de México

Mexico, under the stronghold of Spanish dictators who ruled since Cortez, struggled and gained freedom from Spain in 1824. The Republic of Mexico flag waving at the time of San Jacinto consisted of three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) centered in the white band. The same flag remains today as the official flag of the Estados Unidos de México.

Stephen F. brought his first shipload of settlers to Bolivar Point while Jane was still attempting to hold the fort until her husband, James, returned from attempting to join the revolution. She held out even after there was no hope of his return. Only after she had received news of James’s death did she leave the fort and move inland. Her journey to San Antonio was made in an effort to learn as much as possible about her husband’s death. She then joined Austin at San Felipe where she became one of the leading citizens of the Mexican province. Although all in Texas had to accept Mexican citizenship, Jane personally led her fellow colonists in the battle to control the customhouse at Velasco. She organized the female settlers into a band of bullet makers for the men who fired the shells at the Mexican garrison.