Battle of Velasco The Battle of Velasco , fought June 25 – 26 , 1832 , was the first true military conflict between Mexico and settlers in Texas . It began when Texan insurgent s attacked Fort Velasco , located in what was then Velasco and what is now the present day city of Freeport . The Mexican commander during the conflict , Domingo de Ugartechea , tried to stop the Texians , under John Austin , from transporting a cannon up the Brazos River to attack the city of Anahuac . The Texian militia eventually prevailed over the Mexicans when Ugartechea surrendered after a two day battle , once he realized he would not be receiving reinforcements , and his soldiers had run out of ammunition . Background . After Mexico won independence from Spain , it legalized immigration from the United States . Empresario s were granted contracts to settle immigrants from the United States and Europe in Mexican Texas . As the number of Anglos living in Texas increased , Mexican authorities began to fear the United States would want to annex Texas . On April 6 , 1830 the Mexican government passed a series of laws restricting immigration from the United States into Texas . The laws also canceled all unfilled empresario contracts and established customs houses in Texas to enforce the collection of customs duties . Mexican military officer Juan Davis Bradburn , formerly an American citizen , was appointed commander of a new customs and garrison post on Galveston Bay . In October 1830 Bradburn established a post atop a bluff at the entrance to the Trinity River . The post became known as Anahuac . In 1832 , Mexican authorities established a small garrison at Velasco , a small community on the eastern bank of the Brazos River . The new post would have jurisdiction over all commerce entering the river from the Gulf of Mexico . A log stockade was built on flat ground approximately from the Brazos River , and an equal distance from the Gulf of Mexico . The stockade had an inner and an outer wall , with the between them filled with sand , earth , and shells . An embankment along the inner wall allowed musketeers to shoot without exposing more than their heads . In the center of the stockade , another embankment provided a mounting place for a nine - pound cannon . The cannon was on a swivel and could guard the entire mouth of the river , but was unable to point downwards to aim into the immediate vicinity . Approximately 100 troops were garrisoned at the fort , under the command of Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea . Prelude . Bradburn was deeply unpopular with the Texian settlers . Tensions escalated in May 1832 , when Bradburn arrested a local man , William Barret Travis , on charges of attempted insurrection to separate the territory from Mexico . Conviction on this charge would lead to Travis ' s execution . When Travis ' s business partner , Patrick Jack , made threats against Bradburn , he was also arrested . Jack ' s brother organized a contingent of men to march from Brazoria to Anahuac . As the march began , John Austin , a member of the Brazoria Ayuntamiento , stopped to consult with Ugartechea , who recommended that Austin request that the men be remanded into civilian custody while they awaited a ruling from Bradburn ' s superior . When presented with this request , several Mexican officers explained to Austin that the laws prevented them from turning the men over to civilian authorities . Placated , Austin returned home ; on his arrival he learned that Bradburn ' s men had arrested several Texians on suspicion of stealing horses . Austin was outraged and returned to Anahuac to join other Texian volunteers . By early June , over 150 Texian s had gathered under the command of Frank W . Johnson . On June 10 , the insurgents occupied Anahuac and after a brief engagement with Mexican troops , the Texians withdrew to Turtle Bayou . Taking advantage of the civil war currently engulfing the Mexican interior , the Texians drafted the Turtle Bayou Resolutions . In this document , they declared themselves federalists who supported rebellious Mexican general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and decried " the present dynasty " which gave them military order instead of civil authority . The resolutions encouraged other colonists to join them in laying siege to Anahuac . After the resolutions were adopted on June 13 , the group determined that Austin , Henry S . Brown , and William J . Russell would go to Brazoria to recruit reinforcements and retrieve several cannon that belonged to private citizens . No further attacks would take place in Anahuac until the cannon and reinforcements arrived . On June 20 , residents of Brazoria gathered in a town meeting to decide whether to support further armed resistance . The residents appointed a five - member committee to determine future actions . After some debate , the committee , which included Edwin Waller and Russell , unanimously voted for war . The larger group accepted their recommendations and declared opposition to the current administration . Austin was appointed to command the quickly organized militia , which comprised between 100 and 150 men . Austin quickly proposed that the group be given permission to attack the closest Mexican military installation , Fort Velasco , if necessary . This was the second time Austin had tried to get support to attack Velasco ; his first attempt , on May 11 , had been defeated by a single vote . This time , the new militia agreed to the plan . Deciding that it would be easiest to transport the cannon by boat down the Brazos River to the Gulf of Mexico , the men loaded the cannon onto the schooner " Brazoria " . Austin sent four men to Velasco to inform Ugartechea of their intent to transport cannon down the Brazos River . Ugartechea indicated that he would not allow the ship to pass ; he knew that the cannon were most likely intended to create additional havoc in Anahuac . Battle . At 10 a . m . on June 22 , Austin and his men left Brazoria for the trip to the fort . Approximately 40 men boarded the " Brazoria " for the journey downstream , while the remaining men travelled overland . Russell was given command of the men aboard ship . Because only three of the volunteers had any familiarity with sailing , one of the mates of the " Brazoria " agreed to accompany the militia to ensure the ship arrived at its destination . Russell agreed that the seaman would not have to participate in the battle . On the night of June 25 , the Texians approached the fort . The schooner was anchored at a spot from the fort . Ground forces were split into two groups , commanded by Brown and Austin . Brown ' s men would circle the fort and approach from the Gulf of Mexico side , using driftwood as cover . Austin ' s men would approach from the north , where there was no natural cover . To protect themselves , this group fashioned makeshift shields out of cypress . The shields were thick and were supported by moveable legs . Shortly before midnight , the Texians attacked . During the incessant firing that followed , Mexican troops shot out the " Brazoria " ' s mooring lines . The ship ran aground on the bank . Texians soon ran low on ammunition for the cannon , but as the ship was fairly close to the fort , riflemen continued to fire . Mexican troops charged the schooner but were driven back . Austin ' s men discovered that their portable palisade s were ineffective against Mexican marksmen ; after the battle one shield alone had 130 holes . To protect themselves , Austin ' s men took time to dig trenches in the sand . Thirty minutes after sunrise , a downpour began , and the Texians retreated . Austin sent James Bailey back to Brazoria to gather reinforcements . Mexican troops were almost out of ammunition , and Ugartechea surrendered . Aftermath . Texians refused the first surrender proposal , which would allow the Mexican soldiers to leave Texas with all of their arms . After further negotiations between two of Ugartechea ' s representatives , Lieutenant More and Ensign Rincon , and two of Austin ' s representatives , William H . Wharton and Russell , Mexican soldiers were given permission to march out " with their arms , ammunition , and baggage " to a ship which would take them to Matamoros . The Mexican cannon and swivel gun would remain at Fort Velasco in the custody of the Texians . Wounded Mexican soldiers would remain in Texas and be cared for with " good treatment and hospitality " . Soldiers would take only the provisions they needed for the journey , with the rest remaining with the Texians . Five Mexican troops were killed and sixteen were wounded . The Texians lost seven killed and fourteen wounded . One of the Texian casualties was the seaman from the " Brazoria " . When the battle began , Russell had sent the seaman below decks so that he would be safe . The man was killed when a Mexican cannon shot crashed through the side of the ship . The sustained bombardment had damaged the " Brazoria " , making it ineffective for transportation of the cannon . The Texians regrouped and prepared to march overland to Anahuac . As they readied for departure , they learned that Bradburn had resigned his position and the prisoners had been released . Austin and his men chose to remain in Brazoria .