On December 21, 1826, a small and easily forgotten flag rose over the Old Stone Fort at Nacogdoches. It was red over white, roughly sewn, and carried more ambition than support. The men who raised it believed they had created a nation. They called it the Republic of Fredonia.

It would last barely a month.

Most people have never heard of Fredonia, and that is understandable. It failed quickly, collapsed quietly, and left no heroic last stand behind. But history is not shaped only by victories. Sometimes it is shaped by mistakes that scare the right people at the wrong time.

Fredonia was the first Anglo attempt to break away from Mexico in Texas. It frightened Mexican officials, alienated loyal settlers, and set off a chain reaction that reshaped the future of the region.

In this episode, we walk through a forgotten rebellion, the men who misjudged their moment, and why a failed republic helped make a much larger revolution inevitable.