The stream on whose bank he was killed is known as Nolan’s Creek, and Nolan county, Texas, was named in his memory. Three of his associates, judging from their names, were of his blood, namely, Michael Moore, William Dandlin and Simon McCoy. John Henry Brown, author of the History of Texas, quotes the following from a Mr. Quintero: “The diary kept by Nolan, and many of his letters which are in my possession, show conclusively that he was not only a gallant and intelligent gentleman, but an accomplished scholar. He was thoroughly acquainted with astronomy and geography. He made the first map of Texas, which he presented to the Baron Carondelet, on returning from his first trip in 1797.”
He was followed four years later by Capt. Zebulon Pike. A third invasion was that of the party led by A. W. Magee, a native of Massachusetts, a graduate of West Point, and an ex-officer of the United States Army. This expedition like that of Nolan’s ended badly for those engaged. Seventy or eighty of them who were captured by the Spaniards were shot and buried in one grave. They had rendered material aid, however, to the Mexican patriots in their struggle for independence.
In 1822, thirteen years after their death, the governor of Texas, under the new republic of Mexico, collected their bleached bones, and had them interred with military honors. A tablet on an oak tree, near the place of sepulchre, bore the inscription: “Here lie the braves who, imitating the immortal example of Leonidas, sacrificed their fortunes and their lives contending against tyrants.” It is not possible to make an estimate of the number in this expedition who were, like Nolan and Magee, of Irish origin, as their names are not given, but that there were many, the record of those who followed proves. From 1813 to 1819 others followed in the steps of Nolan and Magee.
Among them were the parties led by Perry and Young. The latter had served in the United States Army during the war of 1812. He took an active part in the Mexican war of Independence, and lived to see them throw off the Spanish yoke. Perry was not so fortunate. In his last fight with the enemy every man in his command was killed, and preferring death to capture, he took his own life, blowing out his brains. Another expedition left Natchez, the headquarters of the ill-fated Nolan, on the 17th of June, 1819. It numbered three hundred men. and was under the command of Dr. James Long, a native of Tennessee, and surgeon in Carroll’s brigade in the war of 1812 and 1815.
After suffering untold hardships, this, like the others preceding it, failed to accomplish its purpose, and the survivors, not prisoners, returned to the state. Later, Long made a second attempt. His party consisted of fifty-two men; the names of thirty-two are known, among them Lieutenant Eagan from New York, “Dr. Allen, an Irish surgeon, and Capt. John McHenry, an Irishman.” Of the latter the historian quoted says:
“It was my fortune in early life to be a neighbor and enjoy the sincere friendship of that true-hearted son of Ireland, Capt. John McHenry.... He was a man utterly incapable of falsehood or deception, a true patriot, and a friend to public and private virtue.... He was born in Ireland in 1798, and arrived at New Orleans in 1812. He took part in Long’s expedition, and, returning in 1822 with one hundred and fifty others in the sloop-of-war Eureka, he participated in an expedition organized in aid of the Revolutionists in South America. A year or so later he entered the trade between New Orleans and the Texas coast, as owner and commander of a schooner. In 1826 he settled permanently on the Lavaca river, where he reared a family and lived until his death, passing through the Revolutionary and Indian wars as a brave man and an honorable citizen. He died honored by those who had known him for half a century.”
Long’s expedition met the same fate as those preceding it. He and his men were captured. Eagan died in prison, and Long, who was taken to the City of Mexico, was shot dead by a soldier, said to be an assassin hired for the purpose. The time had, however, arrived when largely to the enterprise, tact and bravery of the descendants of the men who had established the United States government, Texas was thrown open to all who desired to create new homes on its broad expanse. The leader in this new and successful colonization enterprise came from far-off New England.
His name, now a household word in Texas, was Moses Austin. He was born in Connecticut. Early in life he went to Philadelphia, later to Virginia, and still later to Missouri, or what is now known as Missouri. While here his adventurous nature was attracted toward Texas by the reports of Nolan, Magee and their successors. His ventures heretofore had been failures, and he became interested in the founding of a colony in the territory coveted by all who had seen or heard of it. With this object in view, and desirous of securing permission from the proper authorities, he made a journey to San Antonio de Bexar in December, 1820.
His residence in Missouri, then under the dominion of Spain, familiarized him with the language and customs of its people. His mission was successful. He returned to his home, but like Moses, he was not destined to see the promised land, for he died shortly afterwards, transmitting to his son, Stephen F. Austin, the duty of executing his plans.
His application for his grant of land for a colony had been approved by the Spanish power, about eight months before its fall, and the fact that this concession had been made, while the memories of the invasions of Nolan, Magee and Long were still fresh, proves that Austin was a man of tact and resources. His daughter had married James Bryan, so that here in the beginning, the Saxon and the Gael intermixed. Three sons, the product of this union, William J., Moses A., and Hon. Guy M. Bryan, have been among its most honored citizens.