The Siege of Fort Texas marked the beginning of active campaigning by the armies of the United States and Mexico during the Mexican-American War. The battle is also sometimes called The Siege of Fort Brown, but this is not entirely accurate – the name Fort Brown was taken from the fort's commander, Major Jacob Brown (not to be confused with War of 1812 hero Jacob Brown) who was one of the two Americans killed during the bombardment, and had not yet been applied to the fortification.
On March 27, 1846, troops under the command of General Zachary Taylor advanced to a north bank of the Rio Grande and began construction of an earthen star fortress that they quickly nicknamed "Fort Texas".
On May 3, Mexican artillery based in Matamoros began a week-long bombardment of Fort Texas. While only two Americans were killed during the attack, the artillery barrage and the arrival of significant Mexican forces preventing reinforcement of the fortress placed the installation under great peril.
It was not until the Battle of Palo Alto that Mexican Gen. Mariano Arista was forced to lift his siege of the fortress and retreat to safety further south of the river.
References
- Bauer, K. Jack, The Mexican-American War, 1846–1848
See also
