who led the tejano confederate troops against cortina in 1861
Juan Cortina In May 1861, the much shorter Second Cortina War took place. The American Civil War had just begun, and Cortina, who had aligned himself with the Federal Government of the United States, invaded Zapata County. He was defeated by Confederate Capt. Santos Benavides at the battle of Carrizo, and retreated into Mexico after losing eighteen men. No longer would Cortina conduct large-scale military incursions within the territory of the United States, albeit accusations of promoting guerrilla actions against the richer Texan landowners in the area were numerous throughout the following years.