Clarksville
Clarksville was a small community located near the northern edge of the mouth of the Rio Grande opposite Bagdad. Founded during the 1840s, Clarksville served as a staging area for U.S. troops during the Mexican American War. Early in the Civil War, Clarksville prospered because of the cotton trade and presence of Confederate blockade-runners. In 1863, however, the area was captured and occupied by Union forces, which seized private homes and warehouses and caused most residents to flee. As part of emperor Maximilian’s efforts to suppress Mexican resistance, French gunboats occasionally shelled Clarksville. Theresa Clark Clearwater, daughter of the town's founder, recalled that "often the families were forced to take refuge behind some big sand hill during these bombardments." Troops of the Texas Confederate Calvary, as well as French and Austrian soldiers from Maximilian’s forces also frequented Clarksville. In 1866, American filibusters, private soldiers of fortune, attacked Maximilian's imperial forces at neighboring Bagdad with the help of black soldiers from the 118th U.S. Colored Infantry. The great hurricane of 1867 killed many residents and caused heavy damage to Clarksville, but the community survived. In 1872, the building of a railway from Brownsville to Port Isabel diverted commerce away from Clarksville, which was damaged again by storms in 1874 and 1886. Eventually, the little community ceased to exist, and a change in the course of the Rio Grande in 1953 resulted in the river flowing over the old site.
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Location: Small community located near the mouth of the Rio Grande River opposite Bagdad. A change in the course of the Rio Grande River in 1953 resulted in the river flowing over the old site.
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Photos
Courtesy of the McCaleb Files at
The University of Texas Rio Grande
Valley, Special Collections Library