The Second Mexican War That Never Was

ECW welcomes back guest author Aaron Stoyack

Already embroiled in unprecedented bloodshed and division, interference from foreign powers amplified the concerns of Civil War belligerents. Potential conflict with the French empire in Mexico threatened to render the Union war effort untenable, result in Confederate independence, and humiliate the ideals of republicanism on the world stage. National reunification had scarcely begun when demonstrations of force on the Rio Grande became a military priority.

France, England, and Spain seized on the opportunity presented by the Civil War, as the United States could not enforce the Monroe Doctrine. The three powers formed a coalition and landed at Veracruz, Mexico in 1862, intent on compelling republican President Benito Juárez to repay the country’s debts. French Emperor Napoleon III sought dominion over the entire nation and won the support of Mexican conservatives and the Catholic church. England and Spain left once France’s ambitions became clear. After initial defeat, reinforcements brought French strength to roughly 40,000 men who occupied Mexico City on June 7th, 1864. Five days later, Austrian Archduke Maximilian I was crowned head of state as a puppet for Napoleon III.

This occupation ignited fears in the northern public that France would extend its control to the Confederate border, furnish war material for the southern states, and potentially incorporate Texas, Arizona, and Louisiana. Americans worried this move would tempt other European powers to make similar encroachments into the Western Hemisphere.

After Appomattox, Confederate resistance persisted in Texas under General Edmund Kirby Smith. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant charged Major General Philip Henry Sheridan with subduing Smith and gave him command of the Military Division of the Southwest on May 17th, 1865. By the time Sheridan arrived in New Orleans, Smith had surrendered, and Sheridan took control of the new Military Division of the Gulf.

Sheridan requested three corps from Grant to form a new command, the Army of Observation. Grant acceded, and Sheridan gained over 50,000 foot soldiers for the occupation of Texas and intimidation of the French Imperial government in Mexico. While XIII Corps occupied Texan cities, XXV and IV Corps patrolled the Mexican border. Sheridan requested the services of Major General Wesley Merritt and Major General George Armstrong Custer to augment his forces in the theater. Their cavalry was to subdue continued resistance by Texan rebels and guerillas. Merritt and Custer, with 5,500 and 3,500 troops, respectively, rode across rebellious areas of Texas in the north, then proceeded to San Antonio and Houston, a short distance from the border.

On May 21st, Grant ordered Major General Frederick Steele, IV Corps commander, to lead the Rio Grande Expedition. He was to advance as far along the river as his supply lines allowed while keeping “strict neutrality toward Mexico in the French and English sense of the word.”^[1] Sheridan arrived at Brazos Santiago on June 26th and ordered Steele to demonstrate along the river to threaten the French presence. This provoked little military reaction, but it alarmed the French press, as well as Confederate refugees who poured into Mexico City. Grant asked Sheridan on July 13th to “go to the Rio Grande in person for a few days and manage affairs there according to Your judgment.”^[2]

Across from Brownsville, Texas, lay the Mexican city of Matamoros. Imperial General Tomas Mejia retained Confederate cannons, small arms, and cotton. These supplies were given to him by Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby’s command, which shielded Texas Governor Pendleton Murrah, Major General John B. Magruder, and other officials as they retreated into Mexico.

Steele gave Mejia a message from Sheridan demanding the return of the pieces. Mejia maintained that the cannons were legitimately acquired, bought before the surrender of the Confederate states. Tensions escalated to the point that President Andrew Johnson and his cabinet pondered the question of war with France in July. French and Mexican residents fled border towns in fear of a broader conflict. Ultimately, Emperor Maximilian relented and commanded Mejia to return the artillery pieces and other materials, which were received at Brownsville.

Grant warned Sheridan not to press for conflict so openly. Yet he signaled that engaging in war soon, off the back of revolutionary victories, would be preferable over entering into a future conflict with a consolidated Imperial force. Sheridan concurred and reviewed his Texan troops in September to suggest that the soldiers were preparing for intervention in Mexico. Sheridan then rode to Fort Duncan, the first location where he was stationed as a second lieutenant in 1853. There, he initiated talks with Benito Juárez and his representatives. Sheridan continued his theatrics by transporting a pontoon bridge to Brownsville while pondering the best routes to invade Mexico.

In the latter half of 1865, Union troop numbers shrank across the South, except for Texas. Grant instituted a policy by which Federal supplies could be designated as surplus and left on the banks of the Rio Grande for pickup by Juarista forces. Secretary of State William H. Seward orchestrated a political tour in 1866 in support of the Mexican resistance. Concurrently, Grant negotiated a deal with a representative from the Juárez government by which Major General John M. Schofield would take leave from the American army to command an expedition into Mexico.  Seward heard of the plot and dispatched Schofield to Paris to use diplomatic channels with the French government instead. He also sent Major General William T. Sherman to Mexico as an envoy, although their status as generals suggested the possibility of armed action.

Napoleon III declared in April 1866 that he would withdraw from Mexico. The last French forces left on March 12th, 1866, ending American concern along the southern border and hastening the end of Maximillian’s reign. He was captured and executed on June 19th.

Sheridan characterized the deployment of troops along the border as the primary factor in the French withdrawal. To him, the annexation of Mexico and subsequent imperial rule demonstrated the immorality of monarchies. The ability of American troops to mobilize and the support of Juárez’s forces signified the triumph of republican governance. Tactful diplomacy by Seward ensured that demonstrations of force did not escalate to the point of war.

The disengagement was probably more related to European threats, such as the French public’s growing dissent and Prussia’s unification. Yet demonstrations along the Rio Grande convinced several nearby Imperial garrisons to fall back as far as Monterrey. The flow of American supplies across the river ensured that the border regions fell into republican hands. This influx of material strengthened Juarez’s forces, and Sheridan’s saber-rattling further emboldened them while convincing France to disengage.

Aaron Stoyack is a historian, museum specialist, and writer employed as a Park Ranger at Pamplin Historical Park. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from West Chester University with a B.A. in History and a Minor in Museum Studies. Aaron has served on local commissions and presented at regional and national public history and education conferences. He enjoys researching and interpreting all aspects of history, from local to global scale.

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Bibliography

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Miller, Robert Ryall. “Arms across the Border: United States Aid to Juárez  during the French Intervention in Mexico.” Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 63, no. 6 (1973): 1-68. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1006291

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^[1] Grant, 525-526

^[2] Grant, 1075