Fort Brown

The site that became known as Fort Brown was constructed in April 1846 by General Zachary Taylor and his U.S. Army of Occupation. The fort was intended to bolster U.S. assertions that the Rio Grande was the southern boundary of the United States, but its presence only heighted tensions with Mexico. Mexico disputed the U.S. claim to the Rio Grande and assembled an army to confront the troops in the U.S. fort. When General Taylor departed his fort on May 1, 1846 to gather supplies at the coastal port known as Point Isabel (now Port Isabel), General Mariano Arista seized the opportunity to attack the fort. On May 3, the Mexican General initiated a bombardment of the post and the 500 men left to defend it. General Taylor, with 2300 troops, marched to assist the fort. General Arista, with about 3400 troops, moved to maintain his siege. On May 8, 1846, the two armies engaged in a prolonged cannon battle on the prairie of Palo Alto. The following day they met again at a spot called Resaca de la Palma. There, in the dense brush that lined this low ravine, the opposing troops battled hand to hand in the dense brush. U.S. victory in this clash forced Mexican troops to retreat across the Rio Grande and ended the siege of the U.S. fort. The fort at the center of the fighting had endured a six-day siege with minimal casualties, but one of two soldiers killed was Major Jacob Brown, commander of the post. The site was named Fort Brown to honor him. The siege of Fort Brown prompted the first major battles of the U.S.-Mexican War, but that war also shaped the history of the fort. The conflict officially established the Rio Grande as the boundary between the United States and Mexico, and Fort Brown remained an important post on that border until after World War II. The original earthworks, however, were abandoned shortly after the siege of May 1846 and were never again used.