Juan Davis Bradburn - Legacy

Legacy

Bradburn's death was announced in Texas newspapers in a very neutral manner. The Telegraph and Texas Register said simply that "Gen. Bradburn, who had long been in the Mexican service, and formerly commanded the garrison of Anahuac, lately died at Matamoros". However, the history books of the time did not speak kindly of his actions. In his 1841 book Texas and the Texans; or, Advance of the Anglo-Americans to the South-West Henry Stuart Foote described Bradburn as an "evil spirit, hovering, with gloomy and malignant aspect, in the rear of Santa Anna's army". Henson posits that Bradburn was "one of the most maligned men in historical accounts of that period", partially because he had no descendants to try to "preserv his name and reputation in Texas".

Many of Bradburn's contemporaries appeared to share Stephen F. Austin's belief that: "The fact is is incompetent to such a command and is half crazy part of his time." His actions "appeared arbitrary and authoritarian to the colonists, who were ignorant about the power traditionally exercised by the Mexican military". Texians were further disgusted that Bradburn, who shared their American roots, often sided against American immigrants. However, according to historian J. R. Edmondson, colonists "would probably have resented any officer—Anglo or not—sent among them to initiate the collection of customs". Few Texans in the 19th century understood that Bradburn was following orders and attempting to enforce the national laws of Mexico, and that he was no longer bound by the laws of the United States. Even as late as the 20th century, historians often described Bradburn as a "petty tyrant".

Historian William C. Davis believes that Bradburn "overreacted and made heroes of two local malcontents whose actions their own people otherwise had not been much inclined to sanction". The resulting Turtle Bayou Resolutions empowered other Texians to follow a similar course of action. Many communities began declaring in favor of Santa Anna, and in August Piedras and his troops were driven from Nacogdoches. Their retreat into the Mexican interior temporarily left eastern Texas free of Mexican military control, encouraging the colonists to increase their political activity. Shortly thereafter, colonists organized the Convention of 1832, which marked the first attempt to gather Texians from each of the colonies to discuss their common goals.

Shortly after Bradburn left Texas, the garrison at Anahuac was dismantled. With no troops to purchase supplies, the civilians in the area soon dispersed. The fort was not regarrisoned until January 1835, when Captain Antonio Tenorio arrived with 40 men. His command was no more successful than Bradburn's; within months Travis led a group of insurgents to overthrow Tenorio in the second of the Anahuac Disturbances.