colonists. He forbade the state commissioner from granting property titles to squatters and insisted on enforcing the law freeing any slave who set foot in Mexican territory. He and his men also confiscated settlers goods for their own personal wealth. This angered many of the Anglos, believing that their rights under the Mexican Constitution of 1824 were being violated. In 1832, local men organized a militia, supposedly to protect the settlement from Indian attacks, although all Indians in the area were peaceful. Mexican law forbade residents from creating militias, so Bradburn arrested the ringleader, Patrick C. Jack. Citizens were very angry. In Brazoria, residents held a town meeting to decide what to do. William H. Wharton complained that there was little support within Austin's colony to oppose Bradburn with military force; he and other advocates of armed conflict felt that their opposition from other settlers was as deep as that of the Mexican soldiers in the area. Bradburn eventually agreed to release Jack, and tensions cooled for a brief period. In May 1832, Bradburn received a letter, ostensibly from a friend, warning that 100 armed men were stationed away, intent on reclaiming runaway slaves held by Bradburn. When Bradburn realized that the letter was a hoax, he arrested William Barret Travis for questioning. He intended to send Travis to Matamoros for a military trial on charges of attempted insurrection, with the goal being separation from Mexico. Conviction on this charge would certainly lead to Travis's execution. The settlers were outraged that the arrest did not require a warrant, a statement of charges, or trial by jury. Most were unfamiliar with Mexican law and assumed that the United States Bill of Rights still applied to them. Settlers attacked the Anahuac garrison to free Travis in an event that became known as the Anahuac Disturbances. Additional settlers had gathered in Brazoria to transport several cannon to aid the group in Anahuac. Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea, who led the garrison at Velasco, at the mouth of the Brazos River, refused to allow the ship carrying the cannon to pass. On June 26, settlers initiated the Battle of Velasco; Ugartechea surrendered the following day. Several days later, Colonel Jose de las Piedras arrived from Nacogdoches to assist Bradburn. He removed Bradburn from his command, and the settlers dispersed. In 1832, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led an insurrection against Mexican president Bustamante. Although most