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Sabine Free State Festival
The annual Sabine Free State Festival takes place the first weekend of November in the Village of Florien, LA. Florien is located in the southern tip of Sabine Parish, which was once part of the "Neutral Strip (Louisiana), Neutral Strip". Origins in the neutral strip The Neutral Strip was an area of land that the American government and the Spanish government both claimed. On November 6, 1806, General Wilkinson and Colonel Simon De Herrera signed an agreement to stay out of the strip until a proper boundary could be determined. The area became known as the "Free State" and a sanctuary for outlaws. The most notorious outlaw was John Murrell. Murrell and his clan would rob and kill any large parties that would cross the strip. One member in Murrell's clan was Hiriam Midkiff. Rumor has it that the Spanish had gold mines located near Clear Water Baptist Church just outside the city limits of present-day Florien. Murrell, Midkiff, and other clan members stole the gold, and hid it in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florien
Florien is a village in Sabine Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 633 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from 692 at the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. The village is home to the annual Sabine Free State Festival, celebrating the village’s history as part of the Neutral Ground (Louisiana), Sabine Neutral Strip. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land. Climate This climate, climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Florien has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 692 people, 258 households, and 190 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 312 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabine Parish
Sabine Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de la Sabine'') is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 24,233. The seat of the parish is Many. Sabine was one of five parishes created in as many weeks by the Louisiana State Legislature March 27, 1843. It was created from Natchitoches Parish with the Sabine River as the international boundary between the United States and the Republic of Texas as the western boundary. History The Neutral Strip The area, inhabited first by the Adais (Brushwood) Indians of the Caddo Confederacy, was first under Spanish rule, then French, English, Spanish again, and French when Napoleon sold it to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Boundary disputes followed the purchase. The United States claimed the Sabine River as the border and Spain claimed a line farther east in Louisiana along Arroyo Hondo, a tributary of the Red River. The Neutral Ground Treaty was affected in 1806, declar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neutral Strip (Louisiana)
The Neutral Ground (also known as the Neutral Strip, the Neutral Territory, and the No Man's Land of Louisiana; sometimes anachronistically referred to as the Sabine Free State) was a disputed area between Spanish Texas and the United States' newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. Local officers of Spain and the United States agreed to leave the Neutral Ground temporarily outside the jurisdiction of either country. The area, now in western Louisiana, had neutral status from 1806 to 1821. Background Spain had been concerned for many years with what it viewed as the encroachment of the French from Louisiana into Texas. About 1734, the French moved their post at Natchitoches from the east to the west side of the Red River. The Spanish governor of Texas, Manuel de Sandoval, was reprimanded for not protesting this violation of what Spain believed was its sovereign territory. In 1740, Governor Prudencio de Orobio y Basterra was ordered to investigate French intrusion in the Natchitoches ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Wilkinson
James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American soldier, politician, and double agent who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, but he was twice compelled to resign. He was twice the Senior Officer of the U.S. Army, appointed to be the first Governor of the Louisiana Territory in 1805, and commanded two unsuccessful campaigns in the St. Lawrence River theater during the War of 1812. He died while posted as a diplomat in Mexico City. In 1854, following extensive archival research in the Spanish archives in Madrid, Louisiana historian Charles Gayarré exposed Wilkinson as having been a highly paid spy in the service of the Spanish Empire. In the years since Gayarré's research became public, Wilkinson has been savagely condemned by American historians and politicians. According to President Theodore Roosevelt, " all our history, there is no more despicable character ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colonel Simon De Herrera
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of a regiment in an army. Modern usage varies greatly, and in some cases, the term is used as an honorific title that may have no direct relationship to military service. The rank of colonel is typically above the rank of lieutenant colonel. The rank above colonel is typically called brigadier, brigade general or brigadier general. In some smaller military forces, such as those of Monaco or the Vatican, colonel is the highest rank. Equivalent naval ranks may be called captain or ship-of-the-line captain. In the Commonwealth's air force ranking system, the equivalent rank is group captain. History and origins By the end of the late medieval period, a group of "companies" was referred to as a "column" of an army. According to Raymond O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to the rank of major general and becoming a national hero for his victories in the Mexican–American War. As a result, he won election to the White House despite his vague political beliefs. His top priority as president was to preserve the Union. He died 16 months into his term from a stomach disease, thus having the third shortest presidency in U.S. history. Taylor was born into a prominent family of plantation owners who moved westward from Virginia to Louisville, Kentucky, in his youth; he was the last president born before the adoption of the Constitution. He was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army in 1808 and made a name for himself as a captain in the War of 1812. He climbed the ranks of the military, establishing military fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
