Fort Brown
Just east of International Bridge
Fort Texas was built in 1846 as a border post
and renamed after Major Jacob Brown, who died defending the Fort against
Mexican attacks. It's very location was one of the sparks that triggered
the Mexican War. Today Fort Brown is part of the campus of Texas Southmost
College.
Mexican War Battlefields
At the intersection of FM 1847 and FM 511
you find the marker, commemorating the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca
de la Palma.
Border disputes with Mexico were nothing new
when Texas entered the Union. The United States and Texas claimed the Rio
Grande as the border, while Mexico insisted that the boundary was the Nueces
River. To resolve this dispute once and for all, General Zachary Taylor
received orders from President Polk to enter the disputed territory. In
the meantime Mexican forces laid siege to Fort Texas after wiping out an
American Cavalry patrol. Taylor immediately
called for reinforcement. On May 8 1846 2,300 American troops clashed with
6,000 Mexican warriors at Palo Alto,
ten miles from Fort Brown. Major Samuel Ringold overcame the 3 to 1 odds
against him and forced a Mexican retreat. He and eight other Americans
lost their lives in this battle. The next morning Taylor pressed on and
nearly fell into a trap the overwhelming Mexican forces had set up. They
waited, dug into a dry steam bed called Resaca
de la Palama. Encountering this force
Taylor was unshaken. He pressed forward, stirring the emotions of his soldiers
with the battle cry "Remember the Alamo - Liberty or Death". The echo of
this cry was heard for miles and surely contributed to another victory,
for again the Mexican's were driven back - at a price of 120 American and
1,000 Mexican lives. In the meantime word reached President Polk that the
cavalry patrol had been wiped out, and on May 13, 1846 the United States
of America declared war against Mexico.
Palmito Hill Battlefield
14 miles east of downtown you find the marker
(on Texas 4)
This civil war battle should actually never
have happend, but the confederate soldiers were not aware that Lee had
alrady surrendered and sucessuflly drove off 1,600 Union troops who were
trying to capture cotton, stored at wharehouses in Brownsville.
Some of Brownsville's historic
buildings
Old City Hall (built
in 1852) at 1100 E. Adams
San Roman Building
(1850) at 1231 E. Elizabeth
Browne-Wagner House
(1894) at 812 E. St. Charles
Design and copyright 1998 by Manfred K Wallner
All rights reserved