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1804—The United States claims that the province extends west to the Rio Grande River; Spain denies the right of the United States to any territory west of New Orleans. War is threatened.

1806—United States troops encamp on the east bank of the Sabine River, in Louisiana; the Spanish troops encamp on the west bank, in Texas. By a truce the United States forces retire to the Red River in Louisiana, and pending a settlement of the Texas boundaries dispute, the strip thirty miles wide between the Red River and the Sabine River is made a Neutral Ground.

1806–1819—The Neutral Ground is the resort of desperadoes, who much annoy the Spanish authorities of Texas.

1811–1812—Lieutenant Augustus Magee, a young American army officer, joins with a Mexican revolutionist, Colonel Gutierrez de Lara, in an attempt to seize Texas from Spain. The project fails.

1817–1821—The freebooter, Captain Jean Lafitte, Frenchman, occupies the Island of Galveston; reigns there under the title “Lord of Galveston.”

1818—Generals Lallemand and Rigault, French officers under Napoleon, establish a French colony, entitled the Champ d’Asile (Field of Refuge), twelve miles up the Trinity River. They are soon driven out by the Spanish troops.