MARCH 13, 1864:
Although
mainstream American history neatly glosses this fact, the territorial expansion
of the United States was undertaken largely at the expense of Spanish-speaking
peoples, whether they were Spaniards, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Filipinos, or
Guamanians.
After the 1840s, when the border moved south to the Rio Grande, the
United States acquired a large, largely-ignored Spanish-speaking population. In
the 19th Century, it was comprised primarily of Tejanos, Texans of
Mexican origin.
As it was with all Americans, Tejanos fought on both sides in
the war, and in all theatres of the war and in all major battles. Many remained
loyal to their home soil of Texas (if not strongly in favor of the Confederacy)
despite being chronically ill-equipped and ill-provisioned by Richmond and
Austin. The 33rd Texas (C.S.A.), commanded by Colonel Santos Benavides, was an
all-Tejano unit which was never defeated by Union forces.
Many Tejanos, feeling either loyalty to the
United States or, alternatively, that the Confederacy treated them in a
disparaging fashion, chose to fight for the United States, like Captain Rafael
Chacon of the New Mexico Volunteers (U.S.A.).
The 2nd Texas Cavalry (U.S.A.) was an
all-Tejano unit that fought in the ongoing Red River Campaign.
Other Tejanos struggled to come to terms with
what they saw as strictly an “Anglo” Civil War. Some crossed the Rio Grande and
sought asylum in Mexico; these illegal immigrants were often hanged by the
French-dominated Mexican government as “invaders.”
On this day, Cecilio Balerio, a Tejano
guerrilla fighting for the Union, defeated the Confederates in the bloody
hand-to-hand Battle of San Patricios, Texas, that is considered part of the Red
River Campaign.
