J. Griffis Smith
Far from the battlefields of the Southeast, a little-known but influential chapter of the Civil War unfolded on the Texas-Mexico border as Rebels and Yankees fought for control of valuable cotton-trading routes. On February 28, developers of the new Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail will celebrate the launch of the trail with a history symposium at UT-Pan American in Edinburg (free and open to the public). The trail offers a bilingual website, brochure, and podcasts that trace some 60 historic sites, such as the Port Isabel Lighthouse (above) and Palmito Ranch—site of the final Civil War land battle, which recognizes its sesquicentennial in May.
