Texana-Flag of Gonzales TB02

This trackable is unusual for its longevity. In the five-year period, 2010-14, the owner released a total of 1721 travel bugs in the United States (96%) and Europe (4%). This travel bug is one of the 5% of the total that circulated for at least 5 years and had been moved at least 25 times.  That is a rate of five drops per year for five years.  As of 25-Jan-20, this particular travel bug had survived for 8.5 years and had been moved by 55 cachers. How far can it get?  Keep it moving!

Please drop it in rural OR Premium Member Only caches.  Do not place it in an urban cache or abandon it at a caching event where there is no security.  Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; the bag keeps the trackable clean, protects the number and prevents tangling with other items.  Otherwise, take the travel bug anywhere you wish.  No permission is needed to leave the U.S.

Travel bug photos are appreciated and will be re-posted here.

Patch of the Gonzales Flag of from the Texas War of Independence.  The Battle of Gonzales was the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution.  It was fought near Gonzales, Texas, on October 2, 1835, between rebellious Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army troops.
 
In 1831, Mexican authorities gave the settlers of Gonzales a small cannon to help protect them from frequent Comanche raids. Over the next four years, the political situation in Mexico deteriorated, and in 1835 several states revolted. As the unrest spread, Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea, the commander of all Mexican troops in Texas, felt it unwise to leave the residents of Gonzales a weapon and requested the return of the cannon.
 
When the initial request was refused, Ugartechea sent 100 dragoons to retrieve the cannon using peaceful means. The soldiers neared Gonzales on September 29, but the colonists used a variety of excuses to keep them from the town, while secretly sending messengers to request assistance from nearby communities. Within two days, up to 140 Texians gathered in Gonzales, all determined not to give up the cannon.  On October 1, settlers voted to initiate a fight.  Two ladies of the town, Cynthia Burns and Evaline DeWitt, painted a flag on cotton cloth, depicting the cannon, the lone star of Texas and a clear challenge to the enemy.  Mexican soldiers opened fire as Texians approached their camp in the early hours of October 2. After several hours of desultory firing, Mexican soldiers withdrew. 
 
Although the skirmish had little military significance, it marked a clear break between the colonists and the Mexican government and is considered to have been the start of the Texas Revolution. News of the skirmish spread throughout the United States, where it was often referred to as the "Lexington of Texas". The cannon's fate is disputed. It may have been buried and rediscovered in 1936, or it may have been seized by Mexican troops after the Battle of the Alamo.