Come and take it - wikipedia Come and take it Not to be confused with Come and Get It. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2018 ) Detail of a mural in the museum at Gonzales, Texas, featuring the Come and Take It flag `` Come and take it '' is a historic slogan, first used in 480 BC in the Battle of Thermopylae as `` Molon labe '' by Spartan King Leonidas I as a defiant answer and last stand to the surrender demanded by the Persian Army, and later in 1778 at Fort Morris in the Province of Georgia during the American revolution, and in 1835 at the Battle of Gonzales during the Texas Revolution. Contents 1 American Revolutionary War 2 Texas Revolution 3 References 4 External links American revolutionary War Fort Morris historical marker with `` Come and take it ! '' Sunbury, Georgia, is now a ghost town, though in the past it was active as a port, located east of Hinesville. Fort Morris was constructed in Sunbury by the authority of the Continental Congress. A contingent of British soldiers attempted to take the fort on November 25, 1778. The American contingent at Fort Morris was led by Colonel John McIntosh ( c. 1748 - 1826 ). The Americans numbered only 127 Continental soldiers plus militiamen and local citizens. The fort itself was crudely constructed and could not have withstood any concerted attack. The British commander, Colonel Fuser, demanded Fort Morris ' surrender through a written note to the American rebels. Though clearly outnumbered ( he had only about 200 men plus artillery ), Colonel McIntosh 's defiant written response to the British demand included the following line : `` As to surrendering the fort, receive this laconic reply : COME AND TAKE IT ! ''. The British declined to attack, in large part due to their lack of intelligence regarding other forces in the area. Colonel Fuser believed a recent skirmish in the area, combined with Colonel McIntosh 's bravado, might have reflected reinforcements and so the British withdrew. The British returned in January 1779 with a larger force. They later conquered and controlled nearly all of Georgia for the next few years. Col. McIntosh 's defiance was one successful and heroic event which inspired the patriots as the War moved to the Carolinas and then north. The Fort Morris Historical Marker is on Martin Road, Midway, Georgia. It is located at the visitor center for the Fort Morris Historic Site. The center is located off Fort Morris Road, at the end of the Colonels Island Highway ( Georgia Route 38 ). The marker memorializes the battle and notes the `` Come and Take It ! '' response. In recognition of his valor of defending Fort Morris in Sunbury, McIntosh was awarded a sword by the Georgia Legislature with the words `` Come and Take It '' engraved on the blade. McIntosh later served in the War of 1812 as an American General, still protecting the Georgia coast. He served honorably, receiving honors from the City of Savannah for his service. Texas Revolution the Come and Take It flag In early January 1831, Green DeWitt wrote to Ramón Músquiz, the top political official of Bexar, and requested armament for defense of the colony of Gonzales. This request was granted by delivery of a small used cannon. The small bronze cannon was received by the colony and signed for on March 10, 1831, by James Tumlinson, Jr. The swivel cannon was mounted to a blockhouse in Gonzales and later was the object of Texas pride. At the minor skirmish known as the Battle of Gonzales -- the first battle of the Texas Revolution against Mexico -- a small group of Texans successfully resisted the Mexican forces who had orders from Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea to seize their cannon. As a symbol of defiance, the Texans had fashioned a flag containing the phrase `` come and take it '' along with a black star and an image of the cannon that they had received four years earlier from Mexican officials. This was the same message that was sent to the Mexican government when they told the Texans to return the cannon ; lack of compliance with the initial demands led to the failed attempt by the Mexican military to forcefully take back the cannon. Replicas of the original flag can be seen in the Texas State Capitol, the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, the Sam Houston State University CJ Center, the University of Texas at El Paso Library, the Marine Military Academy headquarters building, the Hockaday School Hoblitzelle Auditorium, and in Perkins Library at Duke University. The replica at the Texas State Capitol, showing spiked touch - hole detail Detail from the monument in Gonzales, Texas References Jump up ^ GlynnGen.com Coastal Georgia Genealogy Page on John McIntosh Jump up ^ North Georgia History Jump up ^ `` Fort Morris Marker ''. Hmdb.org. Retrieved March 2013. Check date values in : accessdate = ( help ) Jump up ^ Lucien Lamar Knight, Georgia 's Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends... : Under the code duello... pages 500 - 501 Jump up ^ Lindley, Thomas Ricks, `` GONZALES COME AND TAKE IT CANNON '', Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, retrieved June 2012 Check date values in : accessdate = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` Come and Take It Cannon Exhibit ''. Gonzalesmemorialmuseum.com. Archived from the original on 2012 - 10 - 30. Retrieved March 2013. Check date values in : accessdate = ( help ) External links Gonzales `` come and take it '' cannon from the Handbook of Texas Online Gonzales Flag as designed in 1835 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Come_and_take_it&oldid=831460777 '' Categories : American political catchphrases Texas Revolution Flags of the United States Hidden categories : CS1 errors : dates Articles needing additional references from January 2018 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 20 March 2018, at 18 : 30 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: where did the term come and take it come from
Answer: first used in 480 BC in the Battle of Thermopylae as "Molon labe" by Spartan King Leonidas I as a defiant answer and last stand to the surrender demanded by the Persian Army