Velasco was the site of the first armed clash between Texas colonists and the Mexican military, a conflict preliminary to the Texas War for Independence. On June 26, 1832, when Texans under John Austin and Henry Smith came downriver with cannon for use against Mexican forces at Anahuac, they met resistance from Lt. Col. Domingo de Ugartechea. As commander of Mexican forces at Velasco, Ugartechea refused passage through the mouth of the Brazos River to the vessel carrying the cannon to Anahuac. About 112 Texans attacked the port at midnight, and after 9 hours under Texas rifle and cannon fire, the Mexican garrison was forced to surrender. The Battle of Velasco, caused by a customs quarrel at Anahuac, was fought unknowingly after the dispute there had already been settled peacefully. Four years later, after the victory at San Jacinto, President David G. Burnet moved the capital of the Republic of Texas temporarily to Velasco. The Treaty of Velasco, ending hostilities between Texas and Mexico, was signed there on May 14, 1836.