Moments in Texas History ~ 6/10/2011

------------------------------------------------------------

Lone Star Boys' State founded

June 10, 1940

On this day in 1940, some 108 boys participated in the first annual Lone Star Boys' State program. The program, sponsored by the American Legion, provides teenage boys with training in functional aspects of citizenship and teaches constructive attitudes toward the American form of government. Nationally the program was begun in the 1930s to counter Fascist-inspired Young Pioneer Freedom camps. Participants are grouped into mock cities, form a mock state government, and elect state officers. The program is held each summer, usually in June, at the University of Texas at Austin. Two boys are chosen to attend Boys' Nation in Washington, D.C., each July. Bluebonnet Girls' State is a similar program for girls.
------------------------------------------------------------

Moses Austin dies

June 10, 1821

On this day in 1821, Moses Austin died in Missouri. Austin, born in Connecticut in 1761, was the first man to receive permission to bring Anglo-American colonists into Spanish Texas. In 1798, while consolidating his position as a pioneer in the American lead industry, he established the first Anglo-American settlement west of and back from the Mississippi River, at modern Potosi, Missouri. When the Bank of St. Louis, which he had helped found, failed in 1819, Austin found himself in financial difficulties and developed a plan for settling American colonists in Spanish Texas.

He traveled to San Antonio in 1820 seeking permission for his plan. Spurned by Governor Antonio María Martínez, he chanced to meet an old acquaintance, the Baron de Bastrop, who returned with him to the governor's office and convinced Martínez to endorse the plan and forward it to higher authorities. On the trip out of Texas, Austin contracted pneumonia. Shortly after he reached home, he learned that permission for the colony had been granted, but he lived barely two months more. It was his deathbed request that his son, Stephen F. Austin, take over the colonization scheme.
------------------------------------------------------------

First armed clash between Anglo Texans and Mexican troops

June 10, 1832

On this day in 1832, a rebel force attacked Anahuac in the first armed clash between Anglo-Texans and Mexican troops. In 1830, Manuel de Mier y Terán ordered John Davis Bradburn to locate a site for a fort, military town, and customhouse, to be named Anahuac. Bradburn encountered hostility from his fellow Anglo-Americans when he tried to carry out his orders, which included inspecting land titles, issuing licenses to Anglo lawyers, and enforcing Mexican customs laws.

The attack was a response to Bradburn's arrest of William B. Travis and other insurgent leaders. Bradburn agreed to exchange Travis and the other Anglos for nineteen cavalrymen held by the insurgents. The cavalrymen were released, but when Bradburn discovered that a number of rebels had remained in town overnight, he refused to free his prisoners and began firing on the town. The insurgents withdrew to Turtle Bayou, where they drew up a series of resolutions explaining their action. Bradburn appealed for help from other military commanders in Texas. Col. José de las Piedras marched from Nacogdoches, but met with Anglo insurgents near Liberty and agreed to remove Bradburn from command and free Travis and the others.
------------------------------------------------------------
posted by Jeff ~6.10.2011 - The Texas State Historical Association