I understand. It's a vindication and a justification for something you have believed in and worked hard to authenticate.
I had figured out the part about Monterey, CA, but I didn't know where Red Bluff was located. The Mexicans wouldn't have called it Red Bluff. Today it would be called Francote Rojo but that's not Old Spanish.
There were many "filibusters" into Mexico, some by Rangers and some not. The word meant "freebooting" or "pirating".
Maxwell was probably part of a filibustering group which was caught.
The border was a freewheeling society in those days, and men did what they were big enough to do. They paid for mistakes with their lives.
Good luck on your research.
It will be interesting!
Red Bluff, CA is about 90 miles north of Sacramento. It has its own website - and a fairly good historical society.