Editing Brownsville, Texas (section)

===Civil War===
{{Main|American Civil War}}
[[File:Palmito Ranch Battlefield Texas.jpg|thumb|Map showcasing the location of the Battle of Palmito Ranch]]

During the [[American Civil War]], Brownsville served as a smuggling point for Confederate goods into Mexico. Most significantly, cotton was smuggled to European ships through the Mexican port of [[Bagdad, Tamaulipas|Bagdad]] to avoid Union [[blockade]]s.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Burnett |first1=John |last2=Peñaloza |first2=Marisa |title=Corruption On The Border: Dismantling Misconduct In The Rio Grande Valley |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/07/06/413463836/corruption-on-the-border-dismantling-misconduct-in-the-rio-grande-valley |access-date=January 2, 2019 |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |date=July 6, 2015 |archive-date=January 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103005008/https://www.npr.org/2015/07/06/413463836/corruption-on-the-border-dismantling-misconduct-in-the-rio-grande-valley |url-status=live}}</ref> The city was located at the end of the "Cotton Road",<ref name="truewest"/> southwest of the [[Cotton Belt]].<ref name=Infoplease>{{Cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/us/A0813754.html |title=Cotton Belt |website=Infoplease |access-date=January 25, 2019 |archive-date=September 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925002908/http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/us/A0813754.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In November 1863, Union troops landed at [[Port Isabel, Texas|Port Isabel]] and marched towards Brownsville to take control of Fort Brown.<ref>{{cite web |title=Battle of Palmito |url=https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Lower_Rio_Grande_Valley/about/battle_of_palmito.html |website=[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] |access-date=January 2, 2019 |archive-date=January 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102193500/https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Lower_Rio_Grande_Valley/about/battle_of_palmito.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In the ensuing [[Battle of Brownsville]], Confederate forces abandoned the fort, blowing it up with {{convert|8000|lb|kg|abbr=on}} of explosives. In 1864, Confederate forces commanded by Colonel [[John Salmon Ford]] reoccupied the town, and he became mayor of Brownsville.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Historic Landmark Nomination |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/dbaa0e66-57d3-4d5d-8759-9d058542d8b5 |website=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=January 4, 2019 |archive-date=January 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105094159/https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/dbaa0e66-57d3-4d5d-8759-9d058542d8b5 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A Guide to the John Salmon "Rip" Ford Papers, ''circa'' 1836-1896 |url=https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/01239/cah-01239.html |website=legacy.lib.utexas.edu |access-date=January 4, 2019 |archive-date=October 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001041804/https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/01239/cah-01239.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Robert E. Lee]] and his Confederate army surrendered to Union commander [[Ulysses S. Grant]] on April 9, 1865, signing a hand-written document at the [[Appomattox Court House National Historical Park|Appomattox Court House]], officially ending the American Civil War.<ref>Davis, p. 387; Calkins, p. 175, states Lee and Marshall left the McLean House "some time after 3:00 in the afternoon".; Eicher, ''The Longest Night'', p. 819, states "the surrender interview lasted until about 3:45 p.m."</ref> Theodore Barrett was ordered to move 500 [[1st Missouri Regiment of Colored Infantry|62nd Regiment]] troops of colors towards Brazos Island. On May 11, Barrett's troops moved inland towards Brownsville and spotted Confederate soldiers.<ref name="palmitoranch">{{cite news |last1=Zoellner |first1=Tom |title=End of an Error |url=https://www.texasobserver.org/final-civil-war-battle-in-south-texas/ |access-date=January 9, 2019 |work=[[The Texas Observer]] |date=April 27, 2015 |archive-date=January 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109155504/https://www.texasobserver.org/final-civil-war-battle-in-south-texas/ |url-status=live}}</ref> John Salmon Ford received news of this and prepared to attack. On May 15, 1865, 34 days after the [[Battle of Appomattox Court House#Surrender|signing of the surrender]], the [[Battle of Palmito Ranch]] took place. Confederates killed or wounded around 30 opponents and captured more than 100 other troops.<ref name="palmitoranch"/> This is accepted by some historians as the last battle of the American Civil War.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Greenspan |first1=Jesse |title=9 Things You May Not Know About Texas |url=https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-texas |publisher=[[History (U.S. TV network)|History]] |access-date=January 9, 2019 |date=May 1, 2013 |archive-date=January 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109155507/https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-texas |url-status=live}}</ref> President Grant sent Union General [[Frederick Steele]] to Brownsville to patrol the United States–Mexico border after the Civil War to aid the ''[[Juaristas]]'' with military supplies.<ref>{{cite web|last=Scribner|first=John|title=The Texas Navy|url=http://www.texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/articles/texasnavy/texasnavy.htm|publisher=[[Texas Military Forces Museum]]|access-date=November 4, 2011|archive-date=September 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929025827/http://www.texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/articles/texasnavy/texasnavy.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Jerry D.|title=Cortina: defending the Mexican name in Texas|year=2007|publisher=[[Texas A&M University Press]]|page=332|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aFsCTOTGHaoC&q=Pedro+Hinojosa+matamoros&pg=PA182|isbn=9781585445929|access-date=October 16, 2020|archive-date=October 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001041804/https://books.google.com/books?id=aFsCTOTGHaoC&q=Pedro+Hinojosa+matamoros&pg=PA182|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Delaney|first=Robert W.|title=Matamoros, Port for Texas during the Civil War|date=April 1955|journal=[[The Southwestern Historical Quarterly]] |jstor=30241907|volume=58|issue=4|pages=473–487}}</ref>