BROWNSVILLE

This article appears in Volume V04, Page 675 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: BRI-BUN

BROWNSVILLE , a city and the county-seat of Cameron county,

Texas

TEXAS

, U.S.A., situated near the S. extremity of the state, on the Rio Grande river about 22 M. above its mouth, and
opposite Matamoras,

Mexico

MEXICO
MEXICO (Span. Mejico, or Mexico,)
DISTRICT
- DISTRICT
_OF.html">MEXICO, FEDERAL
DISTRICT
- DISTRICT
OF
MEXICO, GULF OF

. Pop. (1890) 6134; (19o0) 6305, including 2462 foreign-born and 18 negroes; (1910) 10,517.
It is served by the St Louis, Brownsville &

Mexico

, and the Rio Grande railways, being connected by the former with Houston and Galveston and by the latter with Point

Isabel

ISABEL

on the Gulf coast. Its

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

importance lies in its being the commercial and distributing centre for a rich and extensive agricultural region in southern

Texas

TEXAS

and northern Mexico, and an important market for rice, sugar-cane, fruit, vegetables and live-stock. It has a United States custom

house

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

, the Cameron county court

house

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

, a Roman Catholic cathedral, St Joseph's College (Roman Catholic), and the Incarnate Word Academy (Roman Catholic). Before the Mexican War there was a small Mexican settlement on the site of Brownsville. In March 1846 General Zachary Taylor erected fortifications here, and upon his withdrawal to Point

Isabel

ISABEL

, left a small garrison in command of Major Jacob Brown. The fort was assaulted by General Arista and shelled by batteries from the Mexican shore, and at last on the roth of May was relieved by General Taylor, who in advancing to its aid had won the battles of Palo Alto (8th of May) and Resaca de la Palma (9th of May). The fort, originally named Fort Taylor, was renamed Fort Brown, by order of General Taylor, in memory of Major Brown, who was mortally wounded
during the bombardment. In 1859 Brownsville was captured by a band of Mexican raiders under Juan Nepomuceno Cortina.
During the Civil War, until its temporary occupation by Federal forces in 1863, and subsequent effective blockade, it was an active centre of operations of Confederate blockade runners. At Palmetto Ranch, near the battlefield of Palo Alto, took place (13th of May 1865), more than a month after General Lee's surrender,the last engagement between Federal and Confederate
troops in the Civil War. In Brownsville, on the night of the 13th of August 1906, certain persons unknown fired into houses and at citizens on the streets, killing one man and injuring two. Suspicion pointed to negro soldiers of Companies B, C and D of the 25th Infantry, stationed at Fort Brown, and as it appeared that the culprits were being shielded by their comrades by a " conspiracy of silence," President

Roosevelt

ROOSEVELT, THEODORE (1858— )

dismissed the 170 men of the three companies " without honor." Both in Congress and in the press a bitter attack was made on the president for his action. In 1907 the military reservation of Fort Brown was transferred to the Department of Agriculture. In March 1909 Congress provided for a commission of army officers to report as to the eligibility of members of the negro regiments for re-enlistment.

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