Bagdad-Matamoros, C.S.A.
Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Civil War "Sister Cities", across the river in neutral Mexico. Were linked to Texas by a ferry which landed here. Ferry hauled to Matamoros the Confederate cotton brought from East Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas to Brownsville. In Matamoros, many speculators and agents vied for cotton to ship to Europe, via Havana. They offered in exchange vital goods: guns, ammunition, drugs, shoes, cloth. At Bagdad, on the Gulf, cotton was loaded from small boats onto ships riding the Gulf of Mexico. Goods crossing here were the South's lifeblood.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
During the Civil War, Brownsville and the twin towns of Bagdad and Matamoros across the Rio Grande became a vital loophole in the Union blockade. Because Mexico was neutral, Confederate cotton hauled overland from as far as Arkansas could be ferried across the river and shipped to Europe, returning as guns, medicine, cloth, and shoes. This border trade was, as the marker says, the South's lifeblood when its own ports were sealed.
Why it matters
The Rio Grande cotton road shows how the Confederacy sustained itself through neutral Mexico, making a remote Texas ferry crossing one of the most strategically important trade routes of the war.
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Related events
- · Confederate cotton trade
- · Union blockade
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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