Juan Cortina Biography
(1824–1894), The Cortina Wars, 1859–1860, Ramifications, corridos, Furia y Muerte: Los Bandidos Chicanos
texas mexican anglo anglos mexicans rio mexico war
Mexican American folk hero. Born in Camargo, Tamaulipas, in 1824, Juan Nepomuceno (“Cheno”) Cortina is known in Texas for a rebellion he led there in 1859 and 1860.
Cortina moved with his widowed mother to the U.S. side of the Rio Grande sometime during the 1840s. Working on his mother's property during the 1850s, Cortina watched as Anglo-Americans—who had arrived in the wake of the United States–Mexico War (1846–1848)—displaced Mexicans from positions in the legal and political systems, defrauded grantees of lands, and rapidly established economic dominance by virtue of their imported wealth. As Cortina saw it, Anglos committed crimes against Mexicans with impunity and often escaped punishment by virtue of their connections to the Anglo-controlled judicial system.
On September 28, in an effort to avenge personal injustices inflicted upon him by local Anglos, Cortina and some seventy-five followers stormed into Brownsville and in an ensuing encounter killed four men. Cortina retreated to his ranch and from there issued a proclamation dated September 30 explaining his actions. In it he accused an Anglo clique in Brownsville and surrounding communities of complicity in mistreating the Mexican population. Because Anglos had gone unpunished for crimes they committed against innocent Mexicans, Cortina explained, he had taken it upon himself to ensure that they met justice.
Anglos reacted to Cortina's effrontery by sending a company of volunteers to capture him. Cortina proved elusive but, on October 24, a military skirmish took place between Cortina's columns and a detachment of Anglo recruits named the Brownsville Tigers. Cortina defeated them along with a Mexican force from Matamoros, which had joined up with the Americans. The next month he waylaid a small ranger force searching for him. After that, his fame spread throughout the valley, and his victories won over more believers to his cause.
Cortina issued a second proclamation (dated November 23, 1859). In it, he reiterated his complaints against the Anglos of South Texas. He proposed creating a secret society that would avenge committed wrongs or perhaps punish those responsible for persecuting Mexicans. He further appealed to governor-elect Sam Houston to employ the legal system to safeguard Mexican rights. In late 1859 and winter of 1860, however, a combined force of Texas Rangers and the federal military under Major Samuel Heintzelman defeated Cortina and pushed him and his troops across the Rio Grande into Mexico. With his retreat, Cortina's major role in Texas history ended, but he remained active in the region during the Civil War years and the rest of the decade. He died in Mexico in 1894.
Beyond these several implications, the Cortina Wars of 1859–1860 became literally the stuff of legends. For decades after, common people in South Texas spoke of Juan Cortina as the very embodiment of a community fancying an uprising against the insensitive rule of callous Anglos. For many, “Cheno” possessed the bold courage and temerity to do what others only dared to scheme about. No wonder that he became the central figure in corridos sung by those in Mexican American communities wont to extol the heroic exploits of great men.
The Juan Cortina episode has also intrigued modern scholars. For almost a century after 1859, Texas historiography tended to see Cortina as had his Anglo contemporaries in 1859–1860: as a Mexican opportunist, bandit, and cattle rustler who issued proclamations to justify his lawlessness. Not until the late 1940s did the first scholarly defense of Cortina appear, and since then several other historians have advanced interpretations favorable to the man. During the 1970s revisionists portrayed him as a “social bandit” representing the discontented community of Mexicans challenging an oppressive social order. Other writings, while acknowledging his defense of Mexicans, portray him as a product of the Rio Grande region during midcentury, where similar Anglo figures intrigued to amass power and fortune. The full story of Juan “Cheno” Cortina no doubt will fascinate future generations of Texans, for controversial figures seldom fade from history's pages.
Cortina moved with his widowed mother to the U.S. side of the Rio Grande sometime during the 1840s. Working on his mother's property during the 1850s, Cortina watched as Anglo-Americans—who had arrived in the wake of the United States–Mexico War (1846–1848)—displaced Mexicans from positions in the legal and political systems, defrauded grantees of lands, and rapidly established economic dominance by virtue of their imported wealth. As Cortina saw it, Anglos committed crimes against Mexicans with impunity and often escaped punishment by virtue of their connections to the Anglo-controlled judicial system.
The Cortina Wars, 1859–1860
Cortina's pent-up resentment against the newcomers exploded following an incident at a local café one morning in July 1859. Going there for morning coffee, Cortina came upon the city marshal berating a drunken Mexican whom Cortina knew as a hard-working ranch hand. Cortina sought to reason with the peace officer, but was greeted with a racial epithet. Gunfire followed. Cortina left the sheriff prostrate and fled with the vaquero (cowboy).On September 28, in an effort to avenge personal injustices inflicted upon him by local Anglos, Cortina and some seventy-five followers stormed into Brownsville and in an ensuing encounter killed four men. Cortina retreated to his ranch and from there issued a proclamation dated September 30 explaining his actions. In it he accused an Anglo clique in Brownsville and surrounding communities of complicity in mistreating the Mexican population. Because Anglos had gone unpunished for crimes they committed against innocent Mexicans, Cortina explained, he had taken it upon himself to ensure that they met justice.
Anglos reacted to Cortina's effrontery by sending a company of volunteers to capture him. Cortina proved elusive but, on October 24, a military skirmish took place between Cortina's columns and a detachment of Anglo recruits named the Brownsville Tigers. Cortina defeated them along with a Mexican force from Matamoros, which had joined up with the Americans. The next month he waylaid a small ranger force searching for him. After that, his fame spread throughout the valley, and his victories won over more believers to his cause.
Cortina issued a second proclamation (dated November 23, 1859). In it, he reiterated his complaints against the Anglos of South Texas. He proposed creating a secret society that would avenge committed wrongs or perhaps punish those responsible for persecuting Mexicans. He further appealed to governor-elect Sam Houston to employ the legal system to safeguard Mexican rights. In late 1859 and winter of 1860, however, a combined force of Texas Rangers and the federal military under Major Samuel Heintzelman defeated Cortina and pushed him and his troops across the Rio Grande into Mexico. With his retreat, Cortina's major role in Texas history ended, but he remained active in the region during the Civil War years and the rest of the decade. He died in Mexico in 1894.
Ramifications
Though a localized affair, the Cortina Wars had national ramifications. For one thing, they occurred almost simultaneously with John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, thus deepening the sense among Southerners that forces hostile to their way of life besieged them. Further, it diluted the confidence that Anglo Southerners (and especially Texans) had in the Union's ability to defend them against threats on the frontier, whether the threats were caused by Indians or by Mexicans from south of the border. Moreover, Cortina's actions necessitated the deployment of federal troops at a time of approaching civil war. Having been reassigned elsewhere just a few months earlier, the military had to return to the Rio Grande and contend with something wholly unconnected to the national crisis. Also inflicted on the national consciousness was a question surfacing for the first time following the war with Mexico: How was government (or Anglo society) going to deal with the discontented Mexican population indigenous to the conquered territories? At the regional level, indeed, Juan Cortina's dispute highlighted the many problems that the native Tejano and Tejana population had with American rule. Tejanos and Tejanas felt bitter toward the colonial system that favored Anglos at their expense. Cortina's challenge also brought to center stage the sensitive issue of race relations, which shaped interaction between the two communities in Texas long after. Land conflicts and economic differences also lay behind Cortina's action, as he had seen firsthand the way Anglo lawyers and speculators questioned the legitimacy of old land grants or simply acquired Mexican lands by paying delinquent taxes.Beyond these several implications, the Cortina Wars of 1859–1860 became literally the stuff of legends. For decades after, common people in South Texas spoke of Juan Cortina as the very embodiment of a community fancying an uprising against the insensitive rule of callous Anglos. For many, “Cheno” possessed the bold courage and temerity to do what others only dared to scheme about. No wonder that he became the central figure in corridos sung by those in Mexican American communities wont to extol the heroic exploits of great men.
The Juan Cortina episode has also intrigued modern scholars. For almost a century after 1859, Texas historiography tended to see Cortina as had his Anglo contemporaries in 1859–1860: as a Mexican opportunist, bandit, and cattle rustler who issued proclamations to justify his lawlessness. Not until the late 1940s did the first scholarly defense of Cortina appear, and since then several other historians have advanced interpretations favorable to the man. During the 1970s revisionists portrayed him as a “social bandit” representing the discontented community of Mexicans challenging an oppressive social order. Other writings, while acknowledging his defense of Mexicans, portray him as a product of the Rio Grande region during midcentury, where similar Anglo figures intrigued to amass power and fortune. The full story of Juan “Cheno” Cortina no doubt will fascinate future generations of Texans, for controversial figures seldom fade from history's pages.
Bibliography and More Information about Juan Cortina
- Goldfinch, Charles W. “Juan N. Cortina, 1824–1892: A Re-Appraisal.” In Furia y Muerte: Los Bandidos Chicanos, edited by Pedro Castillo and Albert Camarillo, 85–112. Los Angeles: Aztlán Publications, UCLA, 1973.
- Larralde, Carlos, and José Rodolfo Jacobo. Juan N. Cortina and the Struggle for Justice in Texas. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 2000.
- Thompson, Jerry D., ed. Juan Cortina and the Texas-Mexico Frontier, 1859–1877. El Paso: Texas Western Press, 1994.
See also Criminal Justice System.
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