Editing Turtle Bayou Resolutions (section)

==Colonists react==
[[File:Turtle Bayou Resolutions historical marker.jpg|thumb|Turtle Bayou Resolutions historical marker]]
Taking advantage of this favorable news, they verbally aligned themselves with the Federalist cause by composing the Turtle Bayou Resolutions, which explained their attack against the Centralist troops at Anahuac. They explained that they were not lawless Anglos attacking a Mexican garrison, but that they were Federalist sympathizers opposing a Centralist commandant as part of the civil war that had been in progress for two years between the Centralist administration of Anastasio Bustamante and those wanting to return to the Federalist [[1824 Constitution of Mexico|Constitution of 1824]].<ref>Margaret Swett Henson, "TURTLE BAYOU RESOLUTIONS," Handbook of Texas Online [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mht01], accessed March 12, 2012.</ref>

The four resolutions condemned violations of the 1824 constitution by the Bustamante government and urged all Texans to support the patriots fighting under Santa Anna, who was at the time struggling to defeat military despotism. Though opinions varied among the colonists, few Texans were at that time willing to urge secession.

Federalist colonel [[José Antonio Mexía]] arrived in [[Brazoria, Texas]], on July 16, 1832, with 400 troops and five ships to quell a supposed movement to sever Texas from Mexico. A copy of the Turtle Bayou Resolutions was included in the seven-point statement of causes for taking up arms that was presented to Mexía on July 18.  The explanations offered by the Texas leaders satisfied the Federalist general, and he returned to the [[Rio Grande]].