Grant at Fort Brown

Grant occupied Fort Brown but leading up to the siege he deployed to Fort Polk to receive the supplies.

by Frank Kohl

Two years after grading from West Point, 24-year-old Second Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant found himself on the frontlines of the U.S.-Mexican War.

Arriving on the north bank of the Rio Grande, Grant and the rest of future president Zachary Taylor’s Army of Occupation quickly started constructing an earthwork that would come to be called Fort Brown. The fort was built within view of a Mexican fort and the citizens in Matamoras, Mexico.

The soldiers were running low on supplies. As Major Jacob Brown, the fort’s commander, and 500 men continued construction, General Taylor and 2,300 troops marched to Point Isabel to wait for ships with food, weapons, and other supplies.

The Bombardment Begins

While sleeping in his tent near the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, he was woken by the sound of cannon fire. On May 3rd, 1846, the Mexican army started attacking the soldiers at Fort Texas, nearly 25 miles away.

“As we lay in our tents upon the sea-shore, the artillery at the fort on the Rio Grande could be distinctly heard. The war had begun. . . [as] a young second-lieutenant who had never heard a hostile gun before, I was sorry that I had enlisted” – Grant, Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant

On May 7, 1846, General Taylor’s troops and over 250 supply wagons marched on the Point Isabel-Matamoros road to rescue the besieged fort. The Mexican Army attempted to cut the supply line and challenged them in the Battle of Palo Alto, May 8, and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, May 9. These were Grant’s first two battles.

The Siege Is Lifted

After the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, the Mexicans retreated to Matamoros and the U.S. troops arrived at the fort.

When Taylor learned Major Brown had died, he officially named the fort in his honor.

“Since then a town of considerable importance has sprung up . . . which has also taken his name.” Grant, Memoirs

Fort Brown Today

Today, visitors can see low mounds that formed part of the original earthworks. Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park is working to preserve these remains. Contact us for information about visiting the site.

The Odyssey of Ulysses explores the saga of U. S. Grant from his first battle to his final resting place. For information on this Article Series project, contact us.