Of Ghosts and Soldiers — The Fort Brown National Cemetery
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
I have always said Brownsville, Texas is the most historical Texas city south of San Antonio. One of the most historic areas of the city lies east of downtown. Fort Brown was erected right before the start of hostilities that would lead to the US-Mexican war. It's namesake, Major Jacob Brown, was one of the two American soldiers killed during the Siege of Fort Texas (Fort Texas would later be renamed Fort Brown).
Jacob Brown, along with other soldiers who lost their lives during military engagements in Brownsville, were buried at the Fort Brown National Cemetery.
The Fort Brown National Cemetery was on Lagoon Island in the middle of the resaca where Fort Brown was located. The army began burying soldiers on Lagoon Island in 1848. Eventually, the cemetery would be the resting place for soldiers killed at the Battle of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. By the time the cemetery closed the cemetery had soldiers from Fort Ringgold as well as soldiers who died during the many border skirmishes; and because of the Yellow Fever epidemic.
An article written in a 1936 edition of The Brownsville Herald states the army decided to move the bodies buried at the cemetery after the infamous Brownsville Raid/Brownsville Affair in 1906. The army would award the contract to exhume the bodies to a local contractor. One of the problems the contractor ran into was finding enough workers to help exhume the bodies. According to the article, the workers wouldn't touch the bodies until they received the OK from local priests.
Of the over 3600 bodies exhumed, approximately 1100 of them were unidentified — the graves were simply marked with numbers. In the tradition of officers being treated better than the enlisted ranks, the remains of officers were put in full length caskets while the remains of the unidentified and the enlisted were placed in nondescript boxes. The remains were all placed in railcars and shipped to Alexandria, Louisiana where they remain today.
Unfortunately, when many of the enlisted soldiers were re-interred in Louisiana, they were listed as "unidentified." The remains of over 1500 of the soldiers are said to be buried in one mass grave.
The contractor was told to take the gravestones with him. He cut up and sold several of the gravestones to other local contractors who used them in building foundations and as cornerstones for apartment buildings. One of the apartment complexes to use several of the headstones was the Nebraska Apartments on Jefferson Street between 13th and 14th Streets. Several people I've spoken to say they remember these gravestones and I've even heard stories of these gravestones making their way into people's backyards and gardens as the time passed.
A few other items would be found strewn beneath downtown as construction crews worked to build Brownsville's sewer system. Among them, the remains of half a dozen other soldiers, a couple of sunken ship's hulls, a cache of Russian and Austrian coins, and a sword.
Eventually Lagoon Island would turn into a peninsula where the ritzy Fort Brown Hotel would be built. I clearly remember attending several events at the Fort Brown with my grandparents. The resaca view out the ballroom windows was beautiful. The hotel would eventually close and be repurposed as a large dormitory for students attending the university. A bridge would be built for the students living there to cross over the resaca. Those dormitories would eventually fall into disrepair due to lack of use. Today the land sits empty as the hotel was razed to the ground a few years ago.
I'm sure an archaeological expedition would yield some interesting finds. There are those who believe the area surrounding Fort Brown is haunted. After this mass disturbance of graves, it wouldn't surprise me in the least.
I have always said Brownsville, Texas is the most historical Texas city south of San Antonio. One of the most historic areas of the city lies east of downtown. Fort Brown was erected right before the start of hostilities that would lead to the US-Mexican war. It's namesake, Major Jacob Brown, was one of the two American soldiers killed during the Siege of Fort Texas (Fort Texas would later be renamed Fort Brown).
Jacob Brown, along with other soldiers who lost their lives during military engagements in Brownsville, were buried at the Fort Brown National Cemetery.
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| The Fort Brown National Cemetery located on Lagoon Island |
The Fort Brown National Cemetery was on Lagoon Island in the middle of the resaca where Fort Brown was located. The army began burying soldiers on Lagoon Island in 1848. Eventually, the cemetery would be the resting place for soldiers killed at the Battle of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. By the time the cemetery closed the cemetery had soldiers from Fort Ringgold as well as soldiers who died during the many border skirmishes; and because of the Yellow Fever epidemic.
An article written in a 1936 edition of The Brownsville Herald states the army decided to move the bodies buried at the cemetery after the infamous Brownsville Raid/Brownsville Affair in 1906. The army would award the contract to exhume the bodies to a local contractor. One of the problems the contractor ran into was finding enough workers to help exhume the bodies. According to the article, the workers wouldn't touch the bodies until they received the OK from local priests.
Of the over 3600 bodies exhumed, approximately 1100 of them were unidentified — the graves were simply marked with numbers. In the tradition of officers being treated better than the enlisted ranks, the remains of officers were put in full length caskets while the remains of the unidentified and the enlisted were placed in nondescript boxes. The remains were all placed in railcars and shipped to Alexandria, Louisiana where they remain today.
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| Jacob Brown's Headstone in Alexandria, Louisiana |
Unfortunately, when many of the enlisted soldiers were re-interred in Louisiana, they were listed as "unidentified." The remains of over 1500 of the soldiers are said to be buried in one mass grave.
 |
| The Remains of the Unidentified Federal Soldiers |
The contractor was told to take the gravestones with him. He cut up and sold several of the gravestones to other local contractors who used them in building foundations and as cornerstones for apartment buildings. One of the apartment complexes to use several of the headstones was the Nebraska Apartments on Jefferson Street between 13th and 14th Streets. Several people I've spoken to say they remember these gravestones and I've even heard stories of these gravestones making their way into people's backyards and gardens as the time passed.
A few other items would be found strewn beneath downtown as construction crews worked to build Brownsville's sewer system. Among them, the remains of half a dozen other soldiers, a couple of sunken ship's hulls, a cache of Russian and Austrian coins, and a sword.
 |
| The Fort Brown Hotel |
Eventually Lagoon Island would turn into a peninsula where the ritzy Fort Brown Hotel would be built. I clearly remember attending several events at the Fort Brown with my grandparents. The resaca view out the ballroom windows was beautiful. The hotel would eventually close and be repurposed as a large dormitory for students attending the university. A bridge would be built for the students living there to cross over the resaca. Those dormitories would eventually fall into disrepair due to lack of use. Today the land sits empty as the hotel was razed to the ground a few years ago.
 |
| The Resaca View of the Fort Brown Hotel |
I'm sure an archaeological expedition would yield some interesting finds. There are those who believe the area surrounding Fort Brown is haunted. After this mass disturbance of graves, it wouldn't surprise me in the least.
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