LAREDO history

LAREDO history: "During the unsettled years after the Texas revolution, southwest Texas became the scene of hostilities and attacks by lawless elements -- Indians, smugglers, brigands and fortune seekers. In response to the need for authority and order in the area, as well as resentment against the despotic rule of General Santa Ana, leaders from both sides of the Rio Grande met and formed the Republic of the Rio Grande, and named Laredo as its capital. Although the Republic of the Rio Grande lasted only from early 1939 until the late summer of 1840, its capital building still stands. Facing north across San Augustin Plaza, the old capital building, now a museum, is a lasting memorial to the brave men who dreamed and fought for an independence, which was not to be."