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BOCA CHICA,
TEXAS
Cameron County,
Texas
Gulf Coast
5 Miles SE of Port Isabel
3 Miles NE of the mouth of the Rio Grande
Spanish for "little mouth," The Bay is centered at 26°00' N, 97°09'
W and is bordered on the SE by Boca Chica Beach and on the N by Brazos
Island
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Historical
Markers in Boca Chica
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BATTLE
OF PALMITO RANCH
On May 13, 1865,
the last land action of the Civil War took place here, more than a
month after Lee's surrender at Appomattox. The Confederates forces
knew of the surrender since May 1, when a New Orleans newspaper was
tossed from a boat on its way to Brownsville
to soldiers at Palmito Ranch. On May 9, 1865, Confederate Lt. Gen.
Edmund Kirby Smith, stated that he proposed to continue fighting.
On May 11th, under the cover of darkness at Boca Chica Pass, 300 Union
troops crossed to the mainland in an attempt to occupy Brownsville.
After a forced march, they reached White's Ranch at dawn and attempted
(unsuccessfully) to conceal themselves to rest. With the element of
surprise gone, the troops openly marched toward Brownsville
but didn't get far.
At Palmito Ranch they were confronted by a Confederate force of 190
members of Lt. Col. George H. Giddings's Texas Cavalry which resulted
in a brief skirmish. Both forces disengaged with the Union force camping
for the night. The Confederates attacked at 3 a.m., forcing the Union
troops to return to White's Ranch.
Early on May 13, 200 reinforcements arrived, bringing the Union strength
up to 500. This larger force moved on Palmito Ranch where the major
battle took place. The outnumbered Confederate received succor late
that afternoon, from Colonel "RIP" Ford's Second Texas Cavalry, and
a six-gun battery of field artillery.
The flat, open land gave the advantage to the Confederate mounted
cavalry and the Union troops were routed. A seven-mile running fight
to Brazos Island ensued - and there the Federal troops were met by
reinforcements, now causing the Confederates to retreat.
Since everyone knew the war was officially over, this may have seemed
to Ford to be a good note to go out on. He addressed his troops, saying,
"Boys, we have done finely. We will let well enough alone, and retire."
The four
hour battle left a score of Southerners wounded, but the Union fared
much worse. Thirty men were killed or wounded and over a hundred were
taken prisoner. A few days later a truce was signed. This seemingly
minor see-saw confrontation may have been small by comparison with
the Civil War's major battles, but it won a footnote in history by
being the last land fight of the war - one that was won by the losers. |
Boca Chica
Today
Photos
Courtesy Ken
Rudine, February 2007
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| Boca Chica
Village and store |
| Boca Chica
Boulevard ends |
| Mexico across
from Boca Chica |
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Boca Chica
Texas Forum
BOCA CHICA.....
"What did you say?"
In October 1960, I was completing the last two weeks of the Texas
Highway Patrol Academy in Austin. As was the norm, academy officials
posted on the bulletin board the name of towns or TxHwyPtl stations
where the new hires would be stationed to begin work. As each new
trainee eagerly observed where he would be sent, I was tip toeing
to look over the other men's shoulders. Disappointingly aghast, I
could see they were preparing to send me to live at BOCA CHICA, or
even Pampa as an alternate, for my first work assignment. All other
trainees experienced that same posted shock.
At first glance, after completing those six months of very hard and
rigorous basic training, my response was to tell them to "Take This
Job And Shove It." But as time passed better judgment kicked in. I
decided to just let it play out.
At the time, I had never even heard of Boca Chica and honestly, panhandle
Pampa wasn't a desirable place for this East Texas piney woods country
boy to live either. So, we all languished in agony and pity for one
another, trying to figure it all out and console each other a bit.
After letting our group moan, suffer and wallow in sorrow and humility
for several days, we found out that the list was bogus. It was just
another last minute attempt by academy officials to disappoint, harass,
intimidate, belittle, and discourage the soon to be newly appointed
Texas highway patrolmen. That wasn't an uncommon ploy, among other
things, used by TxDPS during the 1950's, '60's and '70's. We all later
agreed it was just another attempt to test our mettle. We all soon
were once again heads up, chest out and highly proud to have overcome
the disappointment and finished the academy.
A short few weeks thereafter I moved my little family to Crosby, Texas,
in east Harris County as my first work assignment. There I spent a
good part of my career. - Ray Maxie - Texas Escape's aka "Ramblin'
Ray",
June 21, 2007 |
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