General Notes

Benjamin Allen was probably born before 1752, possibly in Ireland.  His first wife may have been Sarah Sommers.  She died sometime before July 5th , 1803 when Benjamin married Sarah Maddox, daughter of Notley Maddox III in Campbell  County, Kentucky.
By the time Kentucky became a state in 1792 , Benjamin Allen was well entrenched in Campbell County , KY.  A court order dated June 2 1795, listed Benjamin Allen as one of 5 men picked by the court to blaze the best route for a road from Wilmington to a main road that ran from Plum Creek to Newport.  Wilmington no longer exists.  It was located on what is now the Kenton County side of Licking River.  It was the site of the first county court meetings and was a small settlement on land owned by John Grant.                While in Campbell  county Benjamin and David Allen, probably a son, both operated mills on the Licking River .  One of the road surveys that Benjamin was involved with in 1806 ran from Benjamin's mill to David Allen's mill.  The Campbell County Tax list starting in 1795 list Benjamin Allen until 1808, when he was listed as , "gon to Spain".  This probably means that me must have moved west of the Mississippi, which was at that time Spanish Territory.  The Tax List of 1807 Listed Benjamin as "insolvent" so it is probable that the move was made for financial reasons.             Benjamin and his son , Martin Allen moved their families south to Louisiana.  In 1812 Benjamin, Martin and Hiram and a nephew of Martin, joined the ill fated Gutierrez Magee Expedition who invaded the Spanish Territory of Tejas.  This expedition also called "The Republican Army of the North", succeeded in capturing the four main towns in Texas including the capitol ,San Antonio and declared it a new nation.  A few months later a large Spanish Army marched back to San Antonio and defeated the 1400 man force at the Medina River.  Most of the expedition were killed either in the battle or as prisoners as no quarter was given.  A few managed to escape back to Louisiana as Hiram Allen did.  A petition that Martin Allen filed in 1836 with the Republic of Texas stated that Benjamin and a nephew of Martin was killed.  Apparently at the time of the battle Martin was back in Louisiana recruiting more volunteers for a new nation.

































The Gutierrez-Magee Expedition

(The Republican Army of the North)

The Battle of Medina

Texas under Seven (7) NOT 6 Flags



Participation of Martin Allen and family members



(With Special thanks to Robert H. Thonhoff for his research, writings , willingness to share to help others, and to make the truth better known- )

I



The sale of Louisiana by France to the U.S. in 1803 increased interest in Texas from the east. It blossomed as a new frontier. The U. S. Government felt that present day Texas was included in the Louisiana purchase-however, publicly the U. S. recognized Spain as The Mother Country of Mexico (Then New Spain) which included present day Texas.

II

Gutierrez-Magee Expedition Organized

With not too secret cooperation of the U. S., apparently including finance, and by placing a U. S. "agent", William Shaler in Natchitoches,(In present Louisiana) in the U. S. - Spain border "neutral zone" the foundation was laid for organization of the Expedition. It is believed by some that William Shaler, with respect to his participation in the Expedition, was acting under orders/approval of the then U. S. Secretary of State James Monroe.

Don Jose Bernardo Maximiliano Gutierrez de Lara ( 1774-1841) was a present day Mexico resident of New Spain and a proponet of Mexico's freedom from Spain and was a Lt. Col. in their Hidalgo Independence movement. In that capacity he traveled from New Spain by way of Natchitoches, thence to Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. In Washington he was received by Secretary of State James Monroe. In the other cities he also received sympathy,