DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the official marker at La Bolsa tells it — and it's one worth hearing. In 1859 and into early 1860, a series of raids on Texas settlements shook the Rio Grande border country. Leading those raids was a man named Juan N.
Cortina — born in 1824, died in 1894 — and the trouble he stirred up drew in companies of Texas Rangers and U.S. soldiers both. History would come to call the whole affair the Cortina Wars. Now, those conflicts had plenty of chapters, but one particular day stands out.
February 4, 1860. The place: La Bolsa Bend, about a mile south of where you're sitting right now. That's where Cortina's raiders set their sights on a riverboat called the Ranchero, which was traveling downstream from Rio Grande City.
Maybe they figured a boat on the river was an easy mark. They figured wrong. Captain John S.
Ford — and if you've spent any time in Texas history you know that middle initial might as well stand for the nickname they gave him: Rip — Captain Rip Ford's Texas Rangers were there, and they defended that riverboat. Successfully. Cortina's attack did not carry the day.
But here's the part that sticks with you: Cortina himself escaped. Slipped across into Mexico. And that wasn't the end of his story by a long stretch — he went on to become a general in the Mexican Army.
The river took him, and history kept him. That's La Bolsa.
What the marker says
In 1859 and early 1860 a series of raids on Texas settlements led by Juan N. Cortina (1824-1894) led to skirmishes with companies of Texas Rangers and U.S. soldiers. These conflicts became known as the Cortina Wars. On February 4, 1860, a battle occurred at La Bolsa Bend (ca. 1 mi. S.) between Cortina's raiders and Capt. John S. "Rip" Ford's Texas Rangers. The Rangers successfully defended the riverboat "Ranchero", traveling downstream from Rio Grande City, from an attack by Cortina's band. Cortina escaped into Mexico and later became a general in the Mexican Army. (1991)