Matagorda County TXGenWeb
Aylett C. “Strap” Buckner, the son of Judge Aylett and Elizabeth (Lewis) Buckner of Louisa County, Virginia, was one of the more colorful characters among the early settlers of Texas.
One of his ancestors, John Buckner, attempted to introduce the first printing press into Virginia in 1682.
His extraordinary exploits earned him a legendary status comparable to that of Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed.
He was made a mythological hero in "The Devil and Strap Buckner," found in The Coming Empire (1877) by N A. Taylor.
Of Scottish and Irish ancestry, this red-headed adventurer earned the nickname "Strap" for his size- 250 pounds spread over a six-foot, six-inch frame.
His strength, appetite, and thirst were of legendary proportions.
Buckner first came to Texas in 1812 as a filibusterer in the Gutierrez-Magee expedition.
He returned in 1816 with Francisco Xavier Mina, and for a third time in 1819, as a member of the James Long expedition all attempts to free Texas from Spanish rule.
In 1819 Buckner and his partner, Peter Powell, became the first permanent Anglo-American settlers in what is now Fayette County, when they built a log cabin on Buckner's Creek on the west side of the Colorado River near LaGrange, claiming the land by "squatter's rights."
Four years later Stephen F Austin's empresario grant was confirmed, however Austin refused to recognize Buckner as a member of his colony or Buckner's claim to the land he had made his homestead.
Austin awarded title to this league of land to Seth Ingram.
Austin then granted Buckner title to a league and two labors of land in the eastern Matagorda County area in 1824.
Strap left his name on this land, for "Buckner's Prairie" is still a feature of Matagorda County.
He also operated a trading post on Bay Prairie, supposedly near the site of Bay City.
In 1825 he had some conflict with Austin over the location and amount of his land and attempted to hold a meeting to protest against Austin, who consequently ordered Andrew Rabb to arrest Buckner for seditious conduct.
After consulting with Jared E. Groce and John P. Cole, Austin was able to work out a better understanding with Buckner.
After a quarrel with James Cummins, Buckner wrote Austin that he wanted to be buried under his own soil and that he wanted to buy a thousand acres of land.
In January 1826 Austin selected Moses Morrison, William Kincheloe, and Buckner as judges for an election for alcalde for the district of Mina.
In 1826 Buckner made a trip to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, to find out whether or not he could claim land as compensation for his services in the Mina and Gutiérrez expeditions.
One of the legends surrounding Buckner's strength concerned a huge, black bull called "Noche" that terrorized the settlers of Fayette County.
Buckner vowed , ''I'll get him with my bare hands."
Armed with only a red blanket, Strap approached the bull.
The bull pawed the ground and bellowed, Buckner pawed the ground and bellowed even louder when the bull charged, Buckner Jabbed his fist into the bull's nose.
The animal staggered backward on its haunches with blood gushing from its nostrils.
The wild bull of the Colorado lay on the ground for about an hour and then wobbled off, never to be seen again.
In 1824 Austin appointed Buckner as captain in the militia to fight the Indians.
Following the massacre of the Flowers and Cavanah families in Matagorda County in 1826 (See accompanying story above), Buckner organized the party which chased, surprised, and killed thirty of the guilty Karankawas.
As a major he commanded another attack on the Karankawas at Liveoak Bayou in 1831.
His reputation was so fierce with the Tonkawas and Karankawas that they named him "Red Son of Blue Thunder."
The census of 1826, listed Buckner as being single and having four servants and one slave.
Benjamin Edwards attempted to recruit Buckner to serve in the Fredonian Rebellion, but instead, Buckner signed a resolution in protest of the uprising.
Following that expression of loyalty to the Mexican government, he and Austin became friends.
Captain Buckner led a militia force of 20 Fayette County men when the Texians attacked the Mexican fort during the Battle of Velasco on July 25, 1832.
The Texian casualties numbered eight killed and twenty-seven wounded.
One of the dead was Captain Aylett C. Buckner, who died instantly when a Mexican bullet shattered his cypress shield and a splinter pierced his head.
Historic Matagorda County, Volume I, pages 52-53