demanded a return of the prisoners. General Bee, the Confederate commander, at once had Davis brought in and sent across to the Mexican authorities with apologies, but his men already had hung Captain Montgomery. This promised for a while to bring on complications with Mexico, but was soon passed as an episode of the war.

CONFEDERATE EVACUATION OF BROWNSVILLE IN 1863

On October 27, 1863, a number of the Mexican soldiers in the Confederate Army under General Bee, revolted, killed one Dashiel, of the same company, wounded Jerry Litteral, and afterwards, circumventing Fort Brown and Brownsville at a place called Ramireño, came upon and killed Antonio Cruz and the former sheriff, Jeff. Barthelow. General Bee at once became suspicious of the various Mexican organizations enlisted under his command, and in fact, even of the loyalty of some of the Americans.

On the date of the arrival off Brazos de Santiago of the Federal fleet, Fort Brown, Brazos, and in fact, all of the garrisons along the Texas border were occupied by the Confederates under Gen. H. P. Bee. The company commanders stationed at the different posts were: Capt.. Richard Taylor, Company A, 33rd Texas Cavalry; Capt. Henry F. Davis, Company F; Capt. Franklin Cummings, Special Service; Capt. Thomas Rabb, 33rd Texas Cavalry; Capt. J. H. Robinson, 33rd Texas Cavalry; Lieut. James Tucker of Fox's Battery; Lieut. J. R. Vinton; Lieut. Walter L. Mann, 1st Texas Cavalry; Capt. John S. Greer, Ordnance Department; Major Charles Russell. The total number of men however, did not exceed 1,200.

At 6 P. M., November 1, 1863, the Federal command under Maj.-Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks came to anchor off the bar at Brazos de Santiago and on the second at about noon a

number of the boats had crossed the bar and anchored in the bay. The force consisted of the Second Division, 13th Army Corps, and the 13th and 15th Regiments of the Maine Volunteers; First Texas Cavalry, and the 1st Engineers and 16th Negro Infantry, a total of 6,998 men, including the First Brigade Brig. Gen. William Vandever and the Second Brigade, Col. William McE. Dye. The 94th Illinois Volun teers entered Brownsville on the evening of the fifth of November, and on the next day the First Missouri Light Artillery and 13th Maine Volunteers came in. And within a few days thereafter, the others came in, some from Point Isabel over the old Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma battlefields and others via the river route.

General Bee received news at 3 o'clock on the afternoon of November 2, 1863, of the landing of the Federal Expedition at Brazos and at once prepared to evacuate. In the afternoon of the third, after setting fire to all government buildings, some of the cotton stored in the garrison, two hundred bales at Freeport (near what is now the International bridge), and throwing many bales into the river, Bee and the Confederate army marched northward towards Santa Gertrudis (now Kingsville) where he arrived on the morning of the eighth. Before his departure, however, Captain Taylor, Confederate, who had been reconnoitering near the mouth of the river, was driven back by the Federals.

The fire from the garrison spread and soon destroyed an entire block of city property then fronting on the Rio Grande. To add to the disorder and terror with which the unprotected citizens of the town were subjected, 8,000 pounds of powder stored in the garrison, exploded, shaking every building in the town and causing the women and children to become panic-stricken. A great quantity of commissary and quartermaster stores were consumed and for a while everything was chaos.

A home guard was organized and attempted to restore order and to save as much property as possible, and to them and the assistance rendered by Mexicans from Matamoros, may be ascribed the success in saving anything. Rumors spreading that the confederates were plundering the city, with permission of the city authorities, Gen. Jose Maria Cobos, a refugee from Mexico, then in Brownsville, where he had been since March 1, organized the Brownsville citizens. He remained in charge from the evening of. the third until the evening of the fifth, when, with numerous adherents whom he had enlisted in his behalf during his stay in Brownsville, he crossed to Matamoros, immediately imprisoned the Military Governor, Señor Don Manuel Ruiz, and all of his officers, and assumed control of Matamoros. He issued a manifesto calling upon his countrymen to unite with him, and began his propaganda to assist the imperialistic cause. On the morning of the seventh, however, General Cortina, who had united with Cobos and pretended to be in hearty accord with his propaganda, having discovered some of his proclamations and suspecting his sincerity, ascertaining that he favored the Imperialistic party, started after Cobos. The latter had been going the rounds early on the morning of the seventh, investigating the prisons and pointing out those who should be executed as traitors. Cortina with a detachment of his followers came upon Cobos about 9 o'clock a. M., and at once notified him of his arrest and that within an hour he should be executed. Cobos, after pleading for a priest as a confessor and being denied one, calmly knelt and with his chin resting on his cane, met his death undismayed. His aide, Vela, was ordered to run the gauntlet and was killed while doing so.

On December 26, 1863, Gen. N. J. T. Dana, in command at Fort Brown, Texas, received a communication from Leonard Pierce, Jr., Consul of the U. S. at Matamoros,

Mexico, advising him that Governor Serna had invited several merchants of that city to his office, among them Jeremiah Galvan and one or two Americans; that they had been escorted to an anteroom and were being held as prisoners subject to the payment of a forced loan of $5,000.00 each. The Consul appealed to General Dana tò interpose his influence in the matter. Dana immediately addressed a letter to Serna informing him that his act in detaining the Americans was illegal; that they were secure from forced loans in their own country and did not know how to submit to them from any other power on earth; that it was his (Dana's) duty to care for the entire safety of every loyal man, woman, and child of the United States; that he did not imagine that all profes sions of friendship from Mexico toward the United States were to be considered merely as complimentary words; that it would be time for the Americans to submit when they might not have the power to protect themselves; that he could not remain an idle or uninterested spectator; that he would now make a peremptory protest against any such action. He demanded that if any such measures had been commenced that they should be forthwith discontinued, and wound up with "I SHALL HOLD MYSELF IN INSTANT READINESS FOR YOUR EXCELLENCY'S REPLY." The staff officer who carried the communication reported that when Serna first read it he was inclined to assume the position that "if American citizens did not like the laws of Mexico, they were at liberty to remain from its soil," and sent that verbal message. But a courier at the very moment arrived in great haste with the report that the Americans had taken possession of the ferryboats. This caused some excitement and brought an immediate reply to the effect "It not being the desire of the Government to place any forced contributions on the American citizens, I have this moment

given orders that in this respect, or anything else of the kind, there shall not be molested any citizens of the United States that shall be met with at this port."

At the hour of sending the communication to Matamoros, General Dana ordered eight pieces of artillery, two squadrons of cavalry and five battalions of infantry to get under arms with ammunition and two days' rations.