Events at Anahuac Leading to the Texas Revolution
Anahuac, Chambers County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In the spring of 1832, Wm. B. Travis, Patrick C. Jack and other American settlers in Texas were unjustly imprisoned by Col. Juan Bradburn, commander of the Mexican garrison at Anahuac. Bradburn's refusal to deliver his prisoners for civil trial caused alarm throughout the American settlements, resulting in the organization of an armed force of citizens for intervention to save their friends from trial by a military court in Mexico. Rallying at Liberty, the Texans on June 10 went to Anahuac to parley with bradburn, who agreed to free the colonists in exchange for Mexican soldiers held by the Texans. When Bradburn refused to keep his word, the texans resolved to fight, and sent to Brazoria for reinforcements of men and cannon, thus precipitating the Battle of Velasco on June 26, 1832. These events were climaxed by the arrival of the Mexican military commander from Nacogdoches, who resolved the conflict by releasing the colonists and placing Bradburn under arrest. Mexican resentment aroused over the events at Anahuac and Velasco was a contributing factor in the development of the Texas Revolution.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the spring of 1832, Col. Juan Bradburn, commanding the Mexican garrison at Anahuac, jailed William B. Travis, Patrick C. Jack, and other American colonists and refused to hand them over for civil trial. Alarmed settlers rallied at Liberty and marched on Anahuac, and when Bradburn broke his promise to free the prisoners, they sent to Brazoria for men and cannon—precipitating the Battle of Velasco on June 26. The standoff ended when the Mexican commander from Nacogdoches released the colonists and arrested Bradburn.
Why it matters
The confrontations at Anahuac and Velasco hardened Anglo-Mexican tensions and stand among the earliest sparks that would ignite the Texas Revolution.
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Related people
- · William B. Travis
- · Patrick C. Jack
- · Juan Bradburn
Related events
- · Battle of Velasco
- · Texas Revolution
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
On this Site First Known as Perry's Point
Anahuac, TX
On this bluff first called Perry's Point, General Manuel Mier y Terán established a fort in 1830, naming it Anahuac after the Aztec name for Mexico City. The post was meant to halt Anglo-American colonization, but the imprisonment of settlers from Stephen F. Austin's colony provoked the first open rebellion against Mexican rule in 1832.
Juan Davis Bradburn
Anahuac, TX
Juan Davis Bradburn, a Kentucky adventurer turned officer in the Army of the Republic of Mexico, was sent in 1830 to build a military post at the mouth of the Trinity River. His high-handed rule at Fort Anahuac—seizing supplies, arresting a land commissioner, and jailing colonists including William B. Travis and Patrick C. Jack—provoked the 1832 Anahuac Disturbances. Deposed by his own officers, Bradburn fled that July, and returned in 1836 with Santa Anna's army only to lose again.
Fort Anahuac
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In 1830 the Mexican government planted a military post at this bluff above the mouth of the Trinity River to collect customs and enforce the law of April 6, 1830, which choked off further Anglo-American immigration. Commanded by the abrasive Col. Juan Davis Bradburn, Fort Anahuac controlled access to East Texas, but Bradburn's conscription of labor and his 1832 jailing of William B. Travis and others enraged the colonists. The resulting armed clash—linked to the fighting at Velasco and the Turtle Bayou Resolutions—forced Bradburn out and Mexican troops from the post.
Round Point
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South Carolinian Anson Taylor settled this point on Trinity Bay as early as 1828, bringing his wife and children from Tennessee to the Mexican province of Texas. Three of the Taylor sons would die at the Alamo in the fight for independence. The land later passed to Thomas Jefferson Chambers—namesake of the county and a figure of endless legal disputes—before clear title returned to Taylor's heirs, and the site drew still more ownership battles into the 20th century.