The Battle of Laredo was fought during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Laredo, Texas

Laredo, Texas

Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...

 was a main route to export cotton to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 on behalf of the Confederate States. On March 18, 1864, Major Alfred Holt led a union force of about 200 men from Brownsville, Texas

Brownsville, Texas

Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...

 to destroy 5,000 bales of cotton stacked at the San Agustín Plaza. Colonel Santos Benavides

Santos Benavides

Santos Benavides was a Confederate colonel during the American Civil War. Benavides was the highest-ranking Tejano soldier in the Confederate military.-Biography:...

 commanded 42 Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 soldiers and repelled three union attacks at Zacate Creek

Zacate Creek

Zacate Creek is a small stream of water located in Webb County, Texas which runs through Laredo, Texas. The creek is formed inside Laredo, Texas city limits and runs southwest for 10 miles until it connects to the Rio Grande. Zacate Creek has several ditches leading to it. The terrain surrounding...

. Colonel Santos Benavides secured passage of the 5,000 cotton bales into Mexico.