680:"(...) There is no need of fear. Orderly people and honest citizens are inviolable to us in their persons and interests. Our object, as you have seen, has been to chastise the villainy of our enemies, which heretofore has gone unpunished. These have connived with each other, and form, so to speak, a perfidious inquisitorial lodge to persecute and rob us, without any cause, and for no other crime on our part than that of being of Mexican origin, considering us, doubtless, destitute of those gifts which they themselves do not possess. (...) Mexicans! Peace be with you! Good inhabitants of the State of Texas, look on them as brothers, and keep in mind that which the Holy Spirit saith: "Thou shalt not be the friend of the passionate man; nor join thyself to the madman, lest thou learn his mode of work and scandalize thy soul."
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25:
672:, Robert Shears, in the arm for his brutalizing of Cortina's former employee, Tomás Cabrera. Tension increased between Cortina and the Brownsville authorities, and on September 28, he raided and occupied the town with a posse of between forty and eighty men. His enemies, however, had fled. During the occupation of Brownsville, Cortina issued a proclamation to reveal his intentions to both communities, quoting from
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town marshal Robert Shears was shot in the arm by Juan
Nepomuceno Cortina for brutalizing his former ranch hand, Tomás Cabrera (who was said to be drunk and causing a scene in Gabriel Catchell's coffee shop), and after ignoring Cortina's request to let him handle the situation. Cortina became one of
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at the Battle of
Carrizo and losing 18 men, Cortina retreated into Mexico. Cortina no longer conducted any large-scale military incursions within the United States. However, he was accused several times of promoting guerrilla actions against the richer Texan landowners in the area throughout the
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against Texans of
Mexican ethnicity. No indiscriminate attacks on the rest of the Brownsville population or their properties took place under the orders of Cortina. Cortina issues a famous proclamation, attempting to calm the American population of Brownsville and asking for respect towards the
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Miguel
Tijerina, Colonel Macedonio Capistran, Don Agapito Longoria, and Don Manuel Treviño, from Matamoros. The following days, Brownsville forms a twenty-man group to fight Cortina, calling themselves the "Brownsville Tigers". The Mexican authorities, fearing reprisals from the United States
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Cortina retained control over
Brownsville until September 30, 1859, when he evacuated the town at the urging of influential residents of Matamoros. In the following days, the townsfolk of Brownsville formed a twenty-man group to fight Cortina called the "Brownsville Tigers". In November, the
833:
Later in the same month, the
Brownsville Tigers were joined by a group of Texas Rangers. Cortina demanded the release of Cabrera by threatening to burn Brownsville. The Tigers hung Cabrera in the early part of that month, and the very next day, the Cortinistas launched an unsuccessful
685:
Brownsville Tigers learned that
Cortina was at his mother's home, called Rancho del Carmen, five miles west of Brownsville. They immediately launched an attack, only to be sent into retreat in disarray by the "Cortinistas", as they were called.
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In
December 1859, the second group of Texas Rangers led by Captain John "Rip" Ford and a regiment of the United States Army commanded by Major Samuel Heintzelman joined the Brownsville Tigers. Cortina retreats up the Rio
891:
received a large monetary contribution from the citizens of
Brownsville to remove Juan Cortina under the pretext that he was rustling cattle across the border. In July 1875, Cortina was arrested and taken to
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On
February 4, 1860, Captain John "Rip" Ford and a group of rangers successfully defended their riverboat against Cortina's men in the Battle of La Bolsa.
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and retreated into Mexico after losing eighteen men. By the end of the wars, at least 245 men had been killed, most of whom were Cortinistas.
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in 2013, which presents a fictionalized account of the First Cortina War. The novel was translated into English by Samantha Schnee in 2014.
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the most important historical figures of the area and continued to exert a decisive influence in the local events until his arrest in 1875.
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According to author Robert Elman, Juan Cortina and his followers were the first "socially motivated border bandits," similar to the
798:, Juan Cortina raided and seized control of Brownsville with a forty to eighty-man posse with the intent of killing his enemies in
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arrived, larger and better organized. Because of appeals from Brownsville residents, the United States Army sent troops from
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Government, instruct the Matamoros militia to join them. The group, led by Adolphus Glaevecke, capture Tomás Cabrera.
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His enemies went into hiding, and Cortina and his men shot five of the town's people presumably involved in the
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Texas historical marker on Highway 281 along the Rio Grande at the Hidalgo-Cameron county line.
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In November 1859, the Brownsville Tigers learn that Cortina is at his mother's ranch near
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John "Rip" Ford was a colonel of the 2nd Texas Cavalry during the American Civil War.
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On November 23, 1859, Cortina issued a second proclamation asking Texas Governor
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Major Samuel P. Heintzelman played a key role in the defeat of Juan Cortina.
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Jose Maria de Jesus Carvajal: The Life and Times of a Mexican Revolutionary
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On March 17, 1860, Captain John "Rip" Ford defeated the Cortinistas at
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Later the same month, the Brownsville Tigers were joined by a group of
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On September 30, 1859, Cortina evacuates Brownsville at the urging of
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until on December 27, 1859, Heintzelman and Ford engaged him in the
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On December 27, 1859, Heintzelman and Ford engaged Cortina in the
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The Second Cortina War took place in May 1861. Cortina invaded
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In May 1861, the much shorter Second Cortina War occurred. The
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had just begun, and Cortina, who had aligned himself with the
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to defend the legal interests of Mexican residents in Texas.
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of later generations. The fighting took place in the
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786:The First Cortina War began on July 13, 1859, when
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1163:19th-century military history of the United States
968:Republic of the Rio Grande Capitol Building Museum
643:area, which straddles the international border of
145:First Cortina War: July 13, 1859 – March 17, 1860
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896:, where he would remain until his death in 1894.
1066:. Trinity University Press. pp. 169, 170.
149:Second Cortina War: May 21, 1861 – May 22, 1861
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807:Mexican inhabitants' persons and properties.
966:Copy of Santos Benavides photograph in the
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447:
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873:. He was defeated by Confederate Captain
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
1038:"Battle of La Bolsa - Historical Marker"
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668:on July 13, 1859, when Cortina shot the
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766:Federal government of the United States
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559:United States occupation of Veracruz
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47:adding citations to reliable sources
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772:. Defeated by Confederate Captain
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862:. The First Cortina War finishes.
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1153:Mexico–United States relations
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930:Brownsville, Texas, circa 1857
183:American–Allied victory
1:
1173:History of Brownsville, Texas
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869:and attacked the county seat
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608:, confronted elements of the
590:, from 1859 to 1860, and the
507:Walker's expedition to Mexico
620:, and the local militias of
586:is the generic name for the
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740:Texas Historical Marker in
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1158:Military history of Mexico
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1062:Chance, Joseph E (2006).
850:Battle of Rio Grande City
812:JosĂ© MarĂa JesĂşs Carbajal
723:Battle of Rio Grande City
717:Cortina retreated up the
604:rancher and local leader
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614:Confederate States Army
324:Confederate States Army
1104:Elman, Robert (1974).
1092:Deep Vellum Publishing
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243:Commanders and leaders
1168:Texas Ranger Division
884:In the 1870s, future
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626:Matamoros, Tamaulipas
529:San Elizario Salt War
472:Mexican–American wars
343:31 killed and wounded
338:Casualties and losses
909:published the novel
770:Zapata County, Texas
596:, in 1861, in which
492:Mexican-American War
43:improve this article
860:La Mesa, Tamaulipas
731:La Mesa, Tamaulipas
487:Capture of Monterey
1106:Badmen of the West
1024:Elman, pg. 189-190
1001:Mexican Revolution
901:In popular culture
796:September 28, 1859
762:American Civil War
756:Second Cortina War
753:
745:
727:Battle of La Bolsa
712:Samuel Heintzelman
622:Brownsville, Texas
610:United States Army
600:forces led by the
593:Second Cortina War
564:Mexican Expedition
549:Mexican Revolution
328:Brownsville Tigers
322:United States Army
257:Samuel Heintzelman
238:Cortinista militia
216:Confederate States
58:"Cortina Troubles"
1073:978-1-59534-020-7
886:Mexican President
879:Battle of Carrizo
824:Santa Rita, Texas
777:following years.
660:First Cortina War
641:Rio Grande Valley
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54:Find sources:
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32:This article
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26:
21:
20:
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1091:
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1046:. Retrieved
1042:the original
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804:legal abuses
800:Brownsville.
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670:town marshal
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606:Juan Cortina
598:paramilitary
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311:Juan Cortina
192:Belligerents
151:(1 day)
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
894:Mexico City
839:Sam Houston
788:Brownsville
701:San Antonio
666:Brownsville
510: [
497:Taos Revolt
476:(1845–1920)
398:Brownsville
1127:Categories
1048:2012-04-10
1007:References
996:Bandit War
828:ghost town
781:Chronology
768:, invaded
719:Rio Grande
705:Fort Brown
569:Bandit War
554:Border War
519:Reform War
346:216 killed
276:Cap. Tobin
169:Tamaulipas
69:newspapers
637:Villistas
633:Garzistas
408:La Ebonal
403:Palo Alto
287:John Ford
980:See also
826:, now a
635:and the
418:La Bolsa
317:Strength
156:Location
1088:"Texas"
917:Gallery
877:in the
845:Grande.
834:attack.
816:Colonel
694:Captain
655:Trouble
602:Mexican
428:Carrizo
423:La Mesa
83:scholar
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972:Laredo
871:Zapata
649:Mexico
624:, and
616:, the
612:, the
227:Mexico
180:Result
173:Mexico
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911:Texas
709:Major
645:Texas
514:]
297:Col.
285:Col.
255:Maj.
161:Texas
90:JSTOR
76:books
1110:ISBN
1068:ISBN
647:and
582:The
142:Date
62:news
970:in
794:On
45:by
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