Logan, William M. (1802–1839)

William M. Logan, participant in the battle of San Jacinto, was born in Williamson County, Tennessee, on September 15, 1802, the son of William Mitchell and Catherine (Henderson) Logan. Catherine Logan was the aunt of James Pinckney Henderson, governor of Texas. Logan arrived in Texas in November 1831 and settled near Liberty. Shortly afterward, he became involved in a dispute with John Davis Bradburn, the military commander at Fort Anahuac. Bradburn was harboring three runaway slaves from Louisiana. Logan, acting as a slave catcher, claimed the three as runaways, but Bradburn refused to relinquish them without proof of ownership and the authority of the governor of Louisiana. However, when Logan returned with the documents, Bradburn again refused to hand the three over on the grounds that they had requested the protection of the Mexican government and had joined the Mexican army. Bradburn's actions caused both resentment and alarm among Anglo-Texans and has frequently been cited in later years as one of the immediate causes of the Texas revolution.

In 1835 Logan enlisted in Andrew Briscoe's company of Liberty volunteers and served as lieutenant during the siege of Bexar. In March 1836 at Liberty he was elected captain of the Third Infantry, Second Regiment, of the Texas volunteers who fought at San Jacinto. After the revolution he became the first sheriff of Liberty County and served as tax collector and muster officer. He died of yellow fever on November 22, 1839, while in Houston on business; he was buried there. A historical marker in his honor was placed on the southeast corner of the Liberty County Courthouse in Liberty.