CIVIL WAR RAGED ON U.S. SIDE; CORTINA VS. FRENCH IN MATA

From: The Mexican Adventure

When United States forces occupied Brownsville on November 6, 1863 Matamoros was quickly taken by General Jose Maria Cobos with the support of Juan Nepomuceno Cortina who had always hated the Confederates across the river. Yet, this was a partnership that would not last.

Cobos was a Spaniard by birth and a conservative who called Benito Juarez a, "tyrannical demagogue". Only a day later Cortina had Cobos executed and was once again in control of the border.

Governor Manuel Ruiz of Tamaulipas was prepared to fight him for power though, and after a brief standoff the two agreed that Ruiz would be governor and Cortina would be deputy commander of their combined forces, led by General Jose Macedonio Capistran, and the partners would move to oppose the French army at Tampico.

By this time, the French had already invaded Mexico and plans were well underway to restore the Mexican monarchy in the person of the Hapsburg Archduke Maximilian of Austria.
Cortina was reluctant to leave his territory and bloodshed soon broke out between the two factions. (The graphic above depicts fighting between the Ruiz and Cortina forecs in January 1864.)

Cortina seized control of Matamoros after bitter fighting and named himself Governor of Tamaulipas. Secure for the time being, events elsewhere would soon bring new combatants to la frontera.
President Benito Juarez had fled Mexico City and on May 16, 1863 following a two month siege, the town of Puebla was taken by the French forces of General Elie Frederic Forey.

In June, the French and Mexican imperialists had taken the capitol city and Mexican imperialist General Tomas Mejia sent Juarez and his army reeling from San Luis Potosi in December. Cortina pledged his loyalty to Juarez, but the Indian president was forced to flee from Monterrey when the "Lion of the North" Santiago Vidaurri declared against him.

Juarez called in his troops and with the republican army approaching, Vidaurri attempted to flee north but was overtaken by 1,600 Juaristas. Vidaurri and a small group escaped to Laredo and the protection of Confederate Colonel Santos Benavidez while the rest of his men switched to the republican side.

From April to August of 1864 Juarez established himself at Monterrey before the French and forces of the Imperial Mexican Army forced him to disband and go into hiding in the deserts of northern Mexico. The conservative cause seemed certain of victory with Juarez missing and on the run and the Archduke Maximilian of Austria and his wife Princess Charlotte of Belgium enthroned as Emperor and Empress of Mexico.

Officially, the Rio Grande border was now part of the restored Empire of Mexico. On August 22, 400 French marines occupied Bagdad at the mouth of the Rio Grande and established good relations with the Confederates across the river.

Cortina, however, was still the wild card.

Cortina had been making aggressive moves against the Confederates in Texas. However, his position was greatly endangered when General Mejia and his imperialistas captured La Burrita on September 2 and there were more closing in from San Fernando and Monterrey.

Cortina soon began making plans to escape across the Rio Grande and join with Union forces to clear the Confederate presence from the region.

When the Cortinistas and a Union cavalry detachment clashed with Confederates near Palmito Ranch the French troops at Bagdad reacted angrily and joined with the Confederates in pledging to treat Cortina and his men as renegades rather than soldiers.

Cortina, however, quickly changed his coat again and when General Mejia arrived on September 26, 1864 Cortina declared himself the loyal servant of Emperor Maximilian. Nonetheless, no one in the monarchist camp trusted Cortina and Mejia was given command of the region with the bandit chieftain soon on the run in the ranks of the Juaristas once again.

The Empire was now in control of the key border city of Matamoros and the Confederates in Brownsville were pleased with the change in flags, but the Unionists were becoming quite alarmed that their man in Mexico, Benito Juarez, had been reduced to the role of an influential fugitive and that the republican cause in Mexico seemed on the verge of extinction.

For a more thorough treatment of the era, click on link below:
http://gisby.info/c-border.htm