 Austin was appointed to the rank of lieutenant colonel and allowed the colonists to elect all subordinate militia officers.Soon after, Austin's militia was authorized to make war on Indian tribes who were hostile and molested the settlement.In 1827, in a move contrary to modern perceptions of Anglo-Texan colonists in Mexico, Austin's militia mobilized in support of the Mexican government to put down the Fredonian Rebellion, a group of Americans who tried to declare a part of Texas as an independent republic separate from Mexico.