Juan Davis Bradburn (born John Davis Bradburn; 1787 – April 20, 1842) was a brigadier general in the Mexican Army. His actions as commandant of the garrison at Anahuac in Mexican Texas in 1831 and 1832 led to the events known as the Anahuac Disturbances.
Born and raised in the United States, Bradburn's first career was as a merchant and slave trader. He likely first entered Mexico in 1812 as part of the Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition fighting Spanish control of Texas. When the expedition was quashed, Bradburn moved to Louisiana, where he served in the Louisiana militia during the Battle of New Orleans. After his discharge, Bradburn spent several years fighting for Mexican independence. After Spain relinquished its hold on Mexico in 1821, Bradburn became an officer in the new Mexican Army, in which he served as a courier for Emperor Agustín de Iturbide.
In 1830, Bradburn established a new military and customs post, Anahuac, in Texas. The local settlers resented Bradburn's efforts to withhold land titles from those who had squatted in unauthorized areas. They were further angered by his attempts to enforce customs laws which had been largely ignored. The hard feelings escalated when Bradburn, following Mexican law, refused to return runaway slaves to their owners in the United States. After receiving a hoax letter claiming that armed men were marching on Anahuac to retrieve runaway slaves, Bradburn arrested local lawyers William B. Travis and Patrick Churchill Jack. Settlers were outraged that Travis did not receive some of the protections offered by the United States Bill of Rights, even though these rights were not guaranteed in Mexico. A large force of Texians marched on Anahuac to secure Travis's release. The resulting confrontation forced Bradburn's expulsion from Texas and encouraged other immigrants to take armed action against Mexican soldiers. As a result of his actions, Bradburn was "one of the most maligned men in historical accounts of" Texas in the 19th century.Henson (1982), p. 13.
Early years John Davis Bradburn was born in 1787 in Virginia.Although Mexican military records report his birthplace as Richmond, Virginia, Henson found no indication that any Bradburn families lived in the area. She believes he was likely born in one of the frontier counties of Virginia. Henson (1982), p. 20. His father was probably William C. Bradburn,Henson (1982), p. 20. and John likely had an elder brother, also named William.Henson (1982), p. 21. At some point after 1800, the family moved to Christian County, Kentucky. As a young adult, Bradburn became a merchant in nearby Springfield, Tennessee.Henson (1982), p. 22. He trafficked in slaves and was once jailed in Natchez, Mississippi, over a disputed slave sale.
It is likely that Bradburn participated in the 1812 Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition, which intended to establish independent Mexican control of Spanish Texas.Biographer Margaret Swett Henson believes Bradburn participated in this expedition because of his election as a militia officer in 1814; most of the men who elected him were documented members of the expedition, and she speculates they would have only voted for someone who had already proven himself militarily. Henson (1982), p. 23. The rebels were initially successful, taking Nacogdoches, Goliad, and provincial capital San Antonio de Béxar. After the execution of Governor Manuel María de Salcedo, many Americans left the movement in disgust. The remaining members of the expedition were decisively defeated by royalist forces at the Battle of Medina in August 1813; a few Americans escaped to Louisiana.Henson (1982), pp. 23–24.
By 1814, Bradburn resided in Louisiana. Rumors abounded that British troops were preparing to land troops to capture the New Orleans region. After the December call for volunteers to help defend the state, Bradburn enlisted in the Eighteenth Louisiana Regiment and was elected third lieutenant. His unit arrived in New Orleans on January 24, just after the Battle of New Orleans, and remained until martial law ended March 11.Henson (1982), pp. 24–25.Bradburn served alongside James Bowie and his brother Rezin. Edmondson (2000), p. 145.
Mexican War of Independence Following his discharge from the militia, Bradburn remained in New Orleans. The Mexican War of Independence was raging, and many filibusters—men planning unauthorized military expeditions—gathered in the city to plan the liberation of Texas from Spanish control. Bradburn became a sergeant major in the movement led by Juan Pablo Anaya and Henry Perry.Henson (1982), p. 26. When Perry's forces entered Texas in early 1816, Bradburn was initially stationed in Nacogdoches to direct recruits and supplies to the main body of the expedition.Henson (1982), pp. 27–28.Epperson (1989), p. 438. In June, Bradburn joined Perry at his headquarters, a bluff along the Trinity River which became known as Perry's Point. Little activity occurred over the next few months.Edmondson (2000), p. 145.
In November 1816, another filibuster, Martín Javier Mina y Larrea, arrived with more men and supplies. Mina planned to invade Tampico and assist the revolutionary army in the Mexican interior.Henson (1982), p. 29. Bradburn allied himself with Mina, whose plan was better-developed than Perry's, and was soon appointed second-in-command of the American troops, under Colonel Gilford Young.Henson (1982), p. 30. The filibusters traveled to Fort Sombrero, an insurgent stronghold in Guanajuato province. Rebel supplies dwindled when the fort was besieged by Spanish royalist troops.Henson (1982), p. 31. Mina attempted to negotiate a surrender, but the Spanish offered safe passage only to native Mexicans; Americans and other foreigners were required to surrender at discretion. As the filibusters pondered this development, Young was killed, leaving Bradburn in sole command of the American troops. On August 19, he ordered a retreat. Spanish cavalrymen attacked, and less than one-quarter of the Americans escaped.
Bradburn remained in Mexico and soon joined the forces led by Vicente Guerrero.Henson (1982), pp. 32–33. Despite Guerrero's reputation for cruelty, the two men developed a close relationship. At least once, Bradburn countermanded Guerrero's orders, refusing to allow the execution of captured Spanish officers. His action impressed Agustín de Iturbide, the commander of the Spanish forces fighting Guerrero. In December 1820, Bradburn left the insurgent army to join Iturbide. Most Mexican historians believe his defection was due to a weariness with the conflict, though at least one historian speculates that Bradburn joined the Spanish Army as Guerrero's spy. Within a month, Bradburn had been appointed intermediary between Iturbide and Guerrero.Henson (1982), p. 34.
Iturbide defected from the Spanish Army, intending to place himself at the head of a new independent Mexico.Henson (1982), p. 35. He recruited his forces from both the Spanish and rebel armies, offering all who joined him an equal or higher rank in his new organization. Bradburn was appointed a colonel.Edmondson (2000), p. 146.
Independent Mexico In August 1821, Mexico officially received its independence from Spain.Henson (1982), p. 36. The following year Iturbide became emperor of Mexico and sent Bradburn as an envoy to the United States. Bradburn returned with news that the United States was prepared to recognize Mexico as an independent country. Later that year, Iturbide arranged Bradburn's marriage to a well-connected Mexican woman, María Josefa Hurtado de Mendoza y Caballero de los Olivos. Her brother, Agustín Hurtado, was the 9th Count of the Valley of Orizaba.Henson (1982), p. 37. Bradburn and his wife had one son, who entered the priesthood as a young man.Henson (1982), p. 19.
Iturbide was overthrown in 1823.Henson (1982), p. 38. The new government was based on federalist principles, and Bradburn, a staunch centralist, kept a discreet distance from politics over the next few years. He reappears in Mexican records in 1828, when he was granted a monopoly on steamboat traffic on the Rio Grande from the Gulf of Mexico through Coahuila. His charter was revoked in 1830 when he was unable to meet its terms.Henson (1982), p. 44.Bradburn was required to have the venture operational by April 1830. Political unrest and a threatened Spanish invasion had delayed the venture until early 1830. Bradburn then hired Henry Austin, a cousin of Texas empresario Stephen F. Austin, to run a steamboat. Austin discovered that the river was too shallow in some places and abandoned the idea. Henson (1982), pp. 44–45.
Texas The new federalist government officially authorized immigration from the United States to Mexican Texas in 1824. The resulting mass influx of settlers, combined with failed attempts by the United States government to purchase the territory, concerned Mexican authorities, who feared that the United States wished to forcibly take Texas. In response, on April 6, 1830, the Mexican government enacted a series of laws restricting immigration from the United States. The laws also called for the establishment of customs houses within Texas to begin enforcing customs duties.Manchaca (2001), p. 200. On October 4, 1830, Bradburn was ordered to create the first customs post, to be located at Galveston Bay. He was chosen for the assignment partly because he was bilingual and would be able to communicate with both the immigrants from the United States and the native Mexicans and partly due to his knowledge of the area and its terrain.
Bradburn and his men arrived at Galveston Bay on October 26 and established a post atop the same bluff where Bradburn had camped with Perry. As ordered, Bradburn named the fort Anahuac after the Anahuac Valley, the ancient capital of the Aztecs.Henson (1982), p. 51. The soldiers erected two large kilns to produce bricks to build a more permanent fort. When the kilns were operational, however, Bradburn sold the bricks to settlers who wished to live near the fort.Edmondson (2000), p. 147. The town grew quickly and by June 1 the population had reached 300 civilians and 170 military personnel. At this point, Bradburn redirected his attention to building a permanent fort. The soldiers, who had been largely idle while the kilns produced bricks for settlers, were angry that they were now expected to do significant physical labor. Their displeasure was augmented by Bradburn's high standards; he often forced the men to tear down and rebuild sections that did not meet his benchmark for quality. Many soldiers deserted.
Bradburn also angered the colonists. The Mexican Constitution of 1824 prohibited immigrants from settling with of the coast, and many foreigners had established homes close to the coast. In January 1831, a new state land commissioner, José Francisco Madero, arrived to grant land titles to people who had settled in the area before 1830. Bradburn believed that only the federal government had the authority to grant titles in the area near the coast, and that as the representative of the federal government he was the only individual who could authorize surveys of the land.Henson (1982), pp. 58–62.