In 1831, American immigrants requested arms from the Mexican government for the defense of Gonzales, Texas. A small swivel cannon was sent to them. It was mounted in a blockhouse guarding the town.
Four years later, at the skirmish which came to be known as the Battle of Gonzales -- the first battle of the Texas Revolution against Mexico -- the Texans successfully resisted the Mexican forces who had orders to seize their cannon.
As a symbol of defiance, the Texans fashioned a flag containing the phrase "come and take it," popularized during the American Revolution by the actions of the garrison at Fort Morris, Georgia, who, when demanded to surrender the fort by a numerically superior British force, replied, "Come and take it!"
The flag was also decorated with a black star and an image of their cannon.
The flag has since come to be known as the Gonzales flag or the "Come and take it" flag, and is a symbol of independence, defiance and resistance.