Captain Moseley Baker’s Flag of San Felipe

History of Baker’s Flag of San Felipe
During the early to mid-1830s, San Felipe Texas’ population approached 600, and in Texas, it was second only to San Antonio as a commercial center. San Felipe served as the capital for the provisional Texian government until the March 1836 constitutional convention met at Washington-on-the-Brazos. The flag was presented to Captain Moseley Baker and the company of volunteer soldiers under his command on February 29th, 1836. The flag consisted of a British Union Jack representing the origin of Anglo-Americans. The thirteen alternating red and white stripes symbolized the fact that most of the settlers in Texas were from the United States. The single white star was for Texas, the only Mexican state that still was willing to fight for liberty and freedom. Upon receiving the flag, Captain Baker made a speech to the company of volunteers referring to the flag as a “banner of independence” and also cited the flag’s inscription “Our Country’s Rights or Death” in the speech. The flag was also adopted as the flag of the town of San Felipe in March of 1836. After the fall of the Alamo, Sam Houston’s army retreated eastward through San Felipe with San Jacinto as its destination. The small Garrison under Baker left behind to guard the Brazos crossing, ordered the town of San Felipe evacuated, and then burned it to the ground to keep it from falling into the hands of Santa Anna and the advancing Mexican army. The panicked hasty evacuation became known as the “Runaway Scrape”. In May of 1836 after Sam Houston and the Texian Army’s victory at San Jacinto, some of the residents of San Felipe began to return, however, the new Texas Republic government was unable to resume operations there since all of the buildings had been burned. The town was incorporated in 1837. A courthouse was constructed and San Felipe became the county seat of the newly established Austin County, but the town was never able to recover its former stature as a commercial center. By the mid-1840s, the county seat was moved to the new community of Bellville.

This is a reproduction of the San Felipe flag. The actual dimensions are not exactly the same as the original flag. Printed 100 denier polyester that is lightweight and flies easily in a light breeze. The artwork is visible from both sides of the flag and the lettering reads correctly from one side only.