The Yankee Invasion of Texas

5. The Cavalry of the West

On December 22, 1863, Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder wrote a letter to the conscript officer in Austin, Col. John S. (“Rip”) Ford. In it he suggested that Ford undertake a secret campaign to drive the Federals out of Brownsville and restore the cotton trade through that city. Magruder wanted Ford to make a feint toward the coast, thus creating confusion among the enemy as to his true objective, Brownsville. Ford and Magruder had both received appeals from Brownsville citizens to come to their rescue. With this public pressure weighing on him, Magruder relieved Ford of conscript duty and ordered him to San Antonio to begin organizing the “Cavalry of the West.”1 Ford had, in the words of a biographer, “a brilliant though erratic career.” He arrived in Texas in 1836, shortly after the Texas Revolution. For the next thirty years he served as a doctor, lawyer, journalist, surveyor, leader of the Texas annexation movement, adjutant in the Mexican War, Texas Ranger captain, and colonel in the Confederate cavalry. During the Mexican War, Ford acquired his nickname, “Rip,” while serving as a surgeon for a Texas Ranger regiment under Col. John C. Hays. During the campaign against Mexico City, he signed death certificates, putting “Rest in Peace” after the deceased soldier’s name. As the number of dead increased, he shortened the phrase to “R.I.P.” From then on Ford was called “Rip.”2 The public pressure that was placed upon Magruder is clear in an article that appeared in an Austin newspaper. The Austin State Gazette stated that “The paper learns from a gentleman who left Laredo last Saturday that things are quiet in that vicinity. Roma was sacked by Mexican robbers and not by Abolition soldiers. Laredo is considered safe, and large quantities of cotton are being crossed there. Benavides is in good spirits, determined to defend Laredo at all hazards; but is extremely anxious to be re-inforced. It is the prevailing wish on the Rio Grande that Col. Ford should be sent there; Five TheCavalryoftheWest  his presence, it is said, would infuse confidence and new life into soldiers and civilians.”3 By late December 1863, Magruder still thought the Federals remained committed to the offensive in Texas. The enemy’s inactivity possibly meant that it was waiting for the arrival of reinforcements. Fearing a possible spring assault, Magruder boldly decided that he himself would take the offensive. He needed an officer with battlefield experience, organizational skills, and knowledge of South Texas. Ford, who accepted the surrender of Fort Brown in 1861, seemed the logical choice. On December 27, Ford received orders from Magruder to organize the Confederate Rio Grande expedition to drive the enemy out of Brownsville. When Ford arrived in San Antonio, he began recruiting from among conscript-exempt Texans. To ensure that Ford would have sufficient men for the campaign, Magruder gave him command of all of the troops at San Antonio, including those to the south and west of that city.4 Ford immediately made an announcement to the people of Texas, imploring them to come to the front and aid in expelling the enemy from Texas soil: Persons desiring to go into service will report to me at San Antonio, without delay, where they will be subsisted and their horses foraged. Those not belonging to companies will be organized here. Companies already organized are requested to report for duty immediately. It is highly important that the expedition be organized and placed in the field at once. The people of the West are invited to turn out. They will be defending their own homes. Shall it be said that a mongrel force of abolitionists , negroes, plundering Mexicans, and perfidious renegades have been allowed to murder and rob us with impunity? Shall the pages of history record the disgraceful fact, that Texans have tamely and basely submitted to these outrages, and suffered the brand of dishonor to be inflicted upon an unresisting people? For the honor of the state, for the sake of the glorious memories of the past, the hopes of the future, you are called upon to rally to the standard and to wash out the stains of invasion by the blood of your ruthless enemies. John S. Ford Colonel, Commanding5 Ford believed the force that would rally to him would make him the Confederate David who would march into the Rio Grande Valley to slay the Union Goliath. Men quickly responded...