In 1812, declaring that it had been included in the Louisiana Purchase (1803), the United States annexed the Mobile District of West Florida, between the Perdido River and the Pearl River. Spain disputed this and maintained its claim over the area. The following year, a Federal statute was secretly enacted authorizing the President to take full possession of this area with the use of military force ("and naval force") as deemed necessary. Accordingly, General James Wilkinson occupied this district with a military contingent; the Spanish colonial commandant offered no resistance. This annexation extended the Mississippi Territory south to the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern border being the boundary of the state of Tennessee, taking in all of what is now Alabama and Mississippi.