December 29, 1845: Texas Becomes the 28th State of the Union

Texas became the 28th state on December 29, 1845, admitted directly from an independent republic, without ever passing through territorial status — the same unusual path California would take five years later. Texas is one of only two states that were sovereign nations before joining the Union.

From Republic to Annexation

Texas declared independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836, and won it that April at the Battle of San Jacinto. For nearly a decade afterward it governed itself as the Republic of Texas, seeking annexation almost from the start. Washington held back for years, wary of the war with Mexico that annexation would likely provoke and of the fight in Congress over adding another slave state.

That changed in President John Tyler's final year in office. Unable to get a treaty through the Senate, Tyler moved annexation forward as a joint resolution instead, which needed only a simple majority. He signed it on March 1, 1845, three days before leaving office, and offered Texas immediate statehood. Texans voted to accept that October, adopted a state constitution, and on December 29, 1845, Congress passed and President James K. Polk signed the resolution admitting Texas as the 28th state. The Republic of Texas formally ceased to exist on February 19, 1846, when authority transferred to the new state government. Mexico, which had never recognized Texan independence, severed relations with the United States over the annexation, and the dispute that followed helped trigger the Mexican-American War that April.

The Flag Itself

Texas's state flag is the same flag the Republic of Texas adopted in 1839, carried into statehood rather than replaced by it. Texas Government Code Section 3100.002 defines it precisely: a rectangle at a two-to-three ratio, one blue vertical stripe at the hoist equal to a third of the flag's length, white over red horizontal stripes filling the rest, and a single white five-pointed star centered in the blue stripe, one point up. The statute assigns the colors directly: blue for loyalty, white for purity, red for bravery, and it sets the exact Pantone numbers so the shade never drifts between manufacturers.

The design itself predates the Republic's 1839 adoption of it as the national flag; it had already flown informally during the revolution. It is one of only two state flags, along with Hawaii's, that previously served as the flag of a sovereign nation. Read the full history and statute of the Texas flag on our category page.

Fly It on Texas's Birthday

Under the United States Flag Code as amended July 7, 1976, a state flag flown on the state's birthday takes its place beneath the United States flag, and December 29 is the one date every year the Texas flag has an official reason to go up. Texas also separately observes Texas Independence Day on March 2, marking the 1836 declaration rather than statehood — the two dates are often confused, and they are not the same anniversary.

Have a Texas flag ready before December 29 and it is on the flagpole for the day. Shop Texas state flags in every outdoor size, nylon and two-ply polyester, made in the United States. The full list of every state's admission date is on our state birthdays page.