Tejano Talks 33 - Republic of the Rio Grande - (2017)

We are all familiar with the flags of the six independent nations that have flown and waved in the wind over Texas.
But history shows there was a seventh flag – the flag of the Republic of the Rio Grande.
The Republic of the Rio Grande was a short-lived independent nation that formed in northern Mexico and South Texas in 1840.
Antonio Canales, a Federalist legislator from Guerrero, spoke out against the Centralist government of Mexico in November 1838, calling for the formation of a republic to oppose Mexico.
The always independently spirited people of Laredo followed suit in early 1839 with their own “pronunciamento” that was accompanied by a fiesta that lasted into the wee hours of the morning.
Canales was named commander of the Army of the Republic of the Rio Grande. Most of South Texas fell within the borders of the fledgling republic.
Laredo was named is capital. A building adjacent to what is now La Posada hotel in the historic San Agustin downtown area of Laredo served as the capitol. It has been restored and serves as a museum open to the public.
The Republic of the Rio Grande’s army was composed mainly of large landowners and their vaqueros from northeast Mexico and South Texas. Canales was joined by legendary freedom fighter Antonio Zapata, a charismatic “mulatto (of African and Indian blood)” from Guerrero.
Captain Jose Maria Benavides, a three-term mayor of Revilla and captain of the garrison there, joined the Republic of the Rio Grande. Benavides was from the Hebbronville area and his descendants Isidro B. Gutierrez and Marta Gutierrez sill live in the area.
The Federalists soon gained the advantage and the Republic of the Rio Grande troops fled north. Some of them hid in Fort Lipantitlan located in northwest Nueces Count.
Zapata was captured and chose death. Canales was captured and surrendered and soon the Republic of the Rio Grande’s uprising was over. But for a short while, a seventh flag flew over parts of Texas. The rebellion lasted from January 17 to November 6, 1840.
A state historical marker stands in front of the museum located in San Agustin Plaza in Laredo proclaiming it the capitol building of the ill-fated republic.