The siege of Fort Texas marked the beginning of active campaigning by the armies of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. The battle is sometimes called the siege of Fort Brown. Major Jacob Brown, not to be confused with

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

General

Jacob Brown Jacob Jennings Brown (May 9, 1775 – February 24, 1828) was known for his victories as an American army officer in the War of 1812, where he reached the rank of general. His successes on the northern border during that war made him a national ...

, was one of the two Americans killed in action.

Background

On 28 March 1846, the Army of Occupation under General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

reached the north bank of the Rio Grande. Taylor ordered Captain Joseph K. Mansfield to construct an earthen star fort for 800 men named "Fort Texas".Bauer, K.J., ''The Mexican War, 1846–1848'', New York: Mcmillan, The fort was garrisoned by 500 men under Major Jacob Brown, including the 7th Infantry, Capt. Allen Lowd's four 18-pounders, and Lt.

Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, serving in the Western ...

's field battery. Mexican General Francisco Mejia's 2,000 men also erected similar fortifications, including for his twenty cannons, for 800 men upstream at the Las Anacuitas ferry crossing, called Fort Paredes; and two

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

s about 800 yards from Taylor's camp, placing it in a

crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. S ...

. The largest cannon was a 12-pounder. Following the Thornton Affair, Mexican forces under General

Mariano Arista José Mariano Arista (26 July 1802 – 7 August 1855) was a Mexican soldier and politician. He was in command of the Mexican forces at the opening battles of the Mexican American War: the Battle of Palo Alto and the Battle of Resaca de la P ...

crossed the Rio Grande and then besieged Fort Texas, after realizing that on 1 May Taylor had taken most of his forces to Fort Polk on Point Isabel to protect his supply depot.

Siege

At dawn on 3 May 1846, Mexican forces bombarded Fort Texas, but were silenced by the American response, although the Mexican artillery down the river was more successful. Lowd attempted to set fire to Matamoros with "hot shot". Mexican fire stopped at 7:30 pm, the American's at 11 pm. On 4 May, Mexican guns and a mortar were placed on the northern bank of the Rio Grande and on 5 May General Pedro de Ampudia arrived with 1,230 men and four guns. Since Ampudia's artillery was too light to breach the earthworks and the infantry disinclined to make an assault, the siege continued until 9 May with General

Antonio Canales Rosillo Antonio Canales Rosillo (1802 in Monterrey, Nuevo León – 1852 in Camargo, Tamaulipas) was a 19th-century Mexican politician, surveyor, and military officer also known for co-founding the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande. Military car ...

's irregular cavalry astride the Point Isabel road preventing supplies from reaching the fort. Captain Edgar S. Hawkins took command of Fort Texas when Major Brown was mortally wounded on 6 May at ten o'clock. When Arista demanded the fort's surrender at 4:30 that afternoon, Hawkins responded with "My interpreter is not skilled in your language but if I understand you correctly...I must respectfully decline to surrender." As soon as it became clear Taylor was leaving Fort Polk, Arista moved his army from his camp at Tanques del Ramiereno to block Taylor's path leading to the battles of

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

and

Resaca de la Palma The Battle of Resaca de la Palma was one of the early engagements of the Mexican–American War, where the United States Army under General Zachary Taylor engaged the retreating forces of the Mexican ''Ejército del Norte'' ("Army of the North" ...

Aftermath

Though the confrontation at Fort Texas lasted six days, with periods of heavy cannon fire, casualties were remarkably low. Only two U.S. soldiers died in the bombardment. Major Brown was struck in the leg by a cannonball on May 6 and survived for several days only to die on May 9, just hours before the siege ended.National Park Service
/ref> Despite his wound, Major Brown had helped maintain troop morale throughout the siege, thus contributing to the success of the defense of the Fort. Mexican leaders reported two killed and two wounded from American artillery fire during the siege. The effect of artillery fire on the civilian population of Matamoros is unknown.

Laundress A washerwoman or laundress is a woman who takes in laundry. Both terms are now old-fashioned; equivalent work nowadays is done by a laundry worker in large commercial premises, or a laundrette (laundromat) attendant. Description As evidenced ...

and cook Sarah Borginnes, who refused to take shelter during the siege but instead provided food and coffee to the American troops, was named "Heroine of Fort Brown" by the American newspapers.

References

Sources

* Brooks, N.C., ''A Complete History of The Mexican War'' * Handbook of Texas Online, ''Fort Brown''

* Alcaraz, Ramon. '' Apuntes para La Historia De La Guerra Estes Mexico y los Estados-Unidos'' Tipografia De Manuel Payno Mexico (City) 1848

External links