The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961 Page: 293
574 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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John S. "Rip" Ford
fifty miles inland was marked by low rolling plains covered with
grass and mesquite trees. The landscape from Rio Grande City
westward was a savanna of chaparral-thick coverts of mesquite
and high prickly pear-and short grasses. Around El Paso there
were not only plentiful growths of yucca, cacti, and coarse grasses
on slopes and plateaus, but also large areas of igneous and sedi-
mentary rock. The drouth-ridden lower Rio Grande region with
few inhabitants would be John S. Ford's main theater of opera-
tions for the next four years.
One of Ford's first duties as commander of the Rio Grande
country was to publish an address to the citizens explaining his
objectives. He intended to preserve order and respect civil rights.
His chief concern was to avoid "a civil and fratricidal war." He
promised protection from Indians and bandits and hoped the
people would recognize the "noble ends" that Texas expected to
gain as a state in the Confederacy.15
The colonel then centered his attention on the Mexicans
across the border. He told the Mexican people and General
Guadalupe Garcia, commanding the line of the Bravo, that the
Confederacy was a friendly nation which had no imperialistic de-
signs in their direction.Y, Since the Federal blockade had sealed
off Texas from the outside world, cordial relations with the state
of Tamaulipas were extremely important. Matamoros furnished
a medium for Confederate-European trade as well as a good
market for the sale of cotton and the acquisition of arms and
war matbriel.l7
Assured of Mexican cooperation, Ford turned to the pressing
problem of frontier defense. Since entering the Confederate serv-
ice as the Second Texas Cavalry on May 23, 1861, his ten com-
panies had occupied Fort McIntosh, Camp Wood, Fort Inge,
Fort Clark, Fort Lancaster, Camp Stockton, Fort Davis, and
Fort Bliss.'8 Ford ordered each post to send out daily patrols to
disperse small bands of renegade Indians, who during the past
15March 6, 1861, Official Records, ser. I, vol. LIII, 654.
1lIbid., 655*
17Hamilton P. Bee to L. P. Walker, October 12, 1861, ibid., vol. IV, 119; J. Fred
Rippy, "Mexican Projects of the Confederates," Southwestern Historical Quarterly,
XXII (April, 1919), 291.
1sGeneral Orders No. 8, May 24, 1861, Oficial Records, ser. I, vol. I, 574-575.293
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961, periodical, 1961; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101190/m1/325/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.