Battle of Laredo

Battle of Laredo
Part of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War
Date 18 March 1864 Location Laredo, Texas Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
CSA (Confederacy)	United States (Union)
Commanders and leaders
Santos Benavides	Alfred F. Holt
Units involved
	1st Texas Cavalry Regiment
Strength
42	200
Casualties and losses
0	2 killed [1]

The Battle of Laredo was fought during the American Civil War. Laredo, Texas was a main route to export cotton to Mexico on behalf of the Confederate States amid the Union blockade of ports along the Gulf of Mexico. On March 18, 1864, Major Alfred F. Holt led a Union force from Brownsville, Texas, to destroy 5,000 bales of cotton stacked at the San Agustín Plaza. Colonel Santos Benavides commanded 42 Confederate soldiers and repelled three Union attacks at Zacate Creek. Colonel Santos Benavides secured passage of the 5,000 cotton bales into Mexico.^[2][3]