The Lynchburg Volunteers

The plaque's company marched under a flag painted by one of its own men. Charles Zanco, born at Randers, Denmark, in 1808, came to Harris County with his father in 1834 to farm, and he was a painter by trade. For the Lynchburg volunteers he helped design a flag with a painted star and the word "Independence," perhaps the first Lone Star on a Texan flag. When most of the men went home after Bexar, Zanco stayed with Neill's garrison, promoted to lieutenant as assistant to the ordnance chief. He died at the Alamo on March 6, 1836.

What the plaque says

The Lynchburg Volunteers In the 1820s, most area residents were loyal citizens of Mexico until Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna Abrogated the constitution of 1824. As hostilities between Mexico City and newly-arrived Texian settlers escalated, many in east and southeast Texas began to support the idea of a Texas that was separate from the Mexican Republic. After the conflicts at Anahuac in 1832 and again in 1835, many Texian groups formed military companies for what they viewed as defense of their rights. As Texians began to mobilize, Lynchburg resident and farmer William Scott (1784-1837) offered to arm and equip anyone who would fight for the cause of Texas independence. On September 15, 1835, the Lynchburg Volunteers were organized, with William Scott elected as Captain, Peter J. Duncan (1799-1870) as first lieutenant and James S. McGahey (1805-1885) as Second Lieutenant. Around 30 men joined the company at Scott's home, which served as headquarters where they trained at Scott's point pleasant plantation. The company reported for service at San Felipe a few weeks later and was then sent to join Colonel James Fannin's men at Béxar. As part of the newly-formed Texian Army of the people, they took part in the Grass Fight and the Battle of Concepción and were present throughout the siege and battles around Béxar in October through December 1835. Some of these men continued Texas' fight for independence at the Battle of San Jacinto and afterwards remained in the area as patriot citizens, continuing their endeavors in farming, medicine, law, politics, education and more. The Lynchburg Volunteers are remembered as brave and dedicated individuals and among the First Volunteer Responders to the call for Texan Independence. (2017)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site — 3.3 mi
  The 1,200 acres of coastal prairie and marsh where the Texas Revolution ended in eighteen minutes, and the 567-foot shaft of fossil-studded limestone that has stood over them since 1939.
• Space Center Houston — 14 mi
  The visitor center of NASA's Johnson Space Center at Clear Lake, with flown capsules, a shuttle replica riding a 747, and tram tours to Mission Control and a Saturn V.
• Emancipation Park — 20 mi
  The Third Ward park that freedpeople bought for Juneteenth in 1872, rebuilt in 2017 on Emancipation Avenue and still the center of the city's June 19 celebration.
• Sam Houston Park and the Heritage Society — 21 mi
  Ten historic buildings gathered in a downtown park below the skyscrapers, among them the 1870 house of the Reverend Jack Yates, built five years after emancipation.

More markers nearby

• Homesite (Point Pleasant) of William Scott — steps away
• Wooster Community — 0.7 mi
• Humble Oil & Refining Company — 2.1 mi
• Hannah Este Burnet — 2.3 mi