Los Patricios was the site of a Civil War battle fought in South Texas on Sunday morning, March 13, 1864. This was the only battle fought in the upper Nueces strip inland area. It was located about 50 miles southwest of Banquete, Texas.

The Union forces were an all-Tejano guerrilla group led by Capt. Cecilio Valerio, part of Col. John L. Haynes’ 2nd Cavalry. Valerio was of the La Rosita area of Duval County and a well-known horse breeder throughout Nueces County. The Confederate soldiers were led by Capt. Matt Nolan who was under the command of Col. John “Rip” Ford, well-known for leading military campaigns in South Texas. Nolan was the advance unit sent by Ford to reach the Rio Grande to provide protection to the city of Laredo, which was the new cotton export port of entry into Mexico.

Los Patricios battle site is now part of the Civil War Trail, managed by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools program. Signage was erected May 1, 2026, located west of Premont on FM716, indicating this historical battle took place in 1864.

Original article published in El Mesteño Vol. 4 No. 48, page 6. Shortened for brevity.

During the U.S. Civil War, the Rio Grande was a point of contention on international boundaries causing "skirmishes" between both Union and Confederate forces from Fort McIntosh in Laredo to Fort Brown in Brownsville. The UTRGV CHAPS' Civil War Trail, located on the South Texas border region known as the Rio Grande Valley with a few inland sites in northern counties, recognizes these sites as a form of education and historic interest.

To learn more about UTRGV CHAPS' Civil War Trail, please visit the official UTRGV CHAPS website where visitors can discover historic sites along the trail including listening to audio tours.