Come And Take It

Of the several flags that have flown over Texas, this is undoubtedly my favorite (save, perhaps, our current one). This is known as the "Come And Take It" flag or the Gonzales Battle Flag. The events that resulted in the creation and display of this flag started the Texas Revolution.

A small settlement in Gonzales, Texas, was given a (very) small cannon by the Mexican government with which to protect the settlement from Indian attacks. As Mexican president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna became more and more dictatorial, the settlers grew increasingly restless. Because of this looming unrest, the commander of all Mexican troops in Texas decided that he'd best retrieve the cannon.

With around 100 troops, Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea traveled to Gonzales on his reposession mission. They made their intentions known, and that didn't settle well with the Texians. They hastily created this flag, and raised it on a pole. A minor skirmish ensued, and the Mexican troops, deciding discretion was the better part of valor when dealing with the Texians, elected to retreat to Bexar (now San Antonio.)

More than any other, this flag to me epitomizes Texas 'tude. I've had this in mind as a blip for quite some time now and finally got a chance to photograph a replica of this flag.

Backblipped Saturday and Sunday.