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Telegraph and Texas Register by James Decker
A weekly look at events in Texas history
James Long, last of the great filibusters

On June 8, 1819, an advance force of 120 men crossed the Sabine River, signaling the entry onto Texas soil of the Long Expedition. This was the last in a series of ill-fated Anglo-American filibustering efforts to wrest Texas from Spanish control.

James Long was a Virginia native who was raised in Kentucky and Tennessee. Long served as an Army surgeon in the War of 1812 and afterwards settled in Mississippi. There, he practiced medicine for a time before purchasing a plantation and engaging in the mercantile business. In 1819, the United States and Spain agreed to the Adams-Onís Treaty, which established the disputed Texas-Louisiana border as it stands today (previously, the United States had contended that Louisiana encompassed all of present-day Texas). Outraged by this perceived cession of land, a group of prominent citizens in Natchez, Mississippi organized a filibustering campaign and resolved to conquer Texas. The campaign raised $500,000 in funds and attracted more than 300 soldiers on the promise of free Texas land.

Long was elected commander of the expedition and, trailing behind the advance force, arrived at Nacogdoches on June 21. Two days later, the expedition declared the independence of Texas, formed a provisional government, and elected Long president. In early August, the expedition printed the Texas Republican, the first newspaper published in Texas. Trouble arose, though, when supplies failed to arrive from Natchez. Long’s government unsuccessfully sought supplies and assistance from famed Galveston pirate Jean Lafitte while its soldiers scattered through East Texas to forage off the land. In October, identifying the strategic importance of Galveston, Long’s government declared the city an official port, appointed Lafitte governor of Galveston Island, and began construction of a fort at Point Bolivar.

Meanwhile, the Spanish government had received word of the expedition (possibly from Lafitte). In late September, Royal Governor Antonio María Martínez directed Colonel Ignacio Pérez and a force of 500 soldiers to expel the Long Expedition from Texas. Col. Pérez’s force advanced eastward and by late November had ended the threat, capturing some filibusters while driving the rest from Spanish soil.

While his first expedition had fallen apart, Long remained undaunted. He escaped to New Orleans and there allied himself with José Félix Trespalacios, organizer of an early Mexican independence campaign. Long established new headquarters at Point Bolivar in April 1820 and began reorganizing his government and gathering forces. Long’s association with Trespalacios soon broke down. In late September 1821, Long and a force of 52 men headed inland to capture La Bahía (now Goliad). The effort was successful—the town fell on October 4—but success was fleeting. Col. Pérez soon arrived and forced a surrender. Long was arrested and imprisoned in Mexico City, where he was shot and killed by a guard. Reportedly, the guard was bribed to do so by none other than Long’s ex-associate José Félix Trespalacios.
With that, the Texas filibustering era was over. Revolutionary efforts in Texas, though, were only beginning.

Source: Handbook of Texas Online, “Long Expedition,” “Long, James,” and “Nacogdoches Texas Republican,” http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/. Articles used with permission of the Texas State Historical Association.

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