This Day In Texas History - June 25

[joe817]

1864 - A skirmish between Confederate and Union forces was fought at Las Rusias, a colonia located one mile north of the Rio Grande in southwest Cameron County. Confederate officer Refugio Benavides of Laredo led a company and joined John Salmon (Rip) Ford to overrun Union forces. Ford, a colonel of the Second Texas Cavalry who engaged in border operations protecting Confederate-Mexican trade, praised Benavides for his gallant conduct during the battle. Las Rusias had also been the site of a skirmish on April 25, 1846, when Mexican troops ambushed an American patrol; the shedding of “American blood upon American soil” sparked the Mexican War. A year Rip Ford wins the last battle of the Civil War after the war ends.

1876 - On this day in 1876, George Armstrong Custer and some 265 men of the Seventh U.S. Cavalry were annihilated on the Little Big Horn River. Custer had a Texas history. After an outstanding career in the Union Army during the Civil War, he had been assigned to duty in Texas as part of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan's effort to prevent Confederate retrenchment in Mexico under the emperor Maximilian. During five months in Hempstead and Austin, he alienated many in his command by strict enforcement of regulations prohibiting foraging and other army predations, while winning the gratitude of many Texans. On the other hand, he also recommended that the army retain control of Texas until the government was "satisfied that a loyal sentiment prevails in at least a majority of the inhabitants." Custer's wife, Elizabeth (Bacon), included in her memoir Tenting on the Plains (1887) a charming account of their stay in Texas. Custer's headquarters building in Austin, the Blind Asylum, located on the "Little Campus" of the University of Texas, has been restored.

1910 - In the 1870s, the Feds removed the log jam ("the Great Raft") that formed Caddo Lake, and the waters receded. On this date in 1910, the Federal government took control of Caddo Lake, and began building an earthen dam, to restore the water level. But not before oil was discovered. In 1911, the world's first over water oil well, struck oil at 2,185 feet, producing 450 barrels per day. Caddo Lake State Park is a major effort to preserve what was once touted as the most beautiful lake in America.

1941 – The contract to build Jones Field airfield base in Bonham was approved. The Bonham Aviation School there provided flight training for army pilots during WWII.

1949 - On this date in 1949, future Miss America Phyllis George was born in Denton. She graduated from Denton High School in 1967, and later from North Texas State University. She became Miss Texas 1970, and Miss America 1971. She later became co-host of Candid Camera, and CBS's NFL Today.

1957 - In southwest Louisiana and Texas, Hurricane Audrey killed 390 people. Cameron, LA, was wiped out. (June 25-28)

1961 - Ma Ferguson, the first woman governor of Texas, died of heart failure. Miriam Amanda Ferguson was born in Bell County in 1875. She married James Edward Ferguson in 1899 and served as first lady of Texas while he was governor from 1915 to 1917. After his impeachment, Miriam entered the race for the Texas governorship. She won an August run-off and the November general election, thus becoming the second woman governor in United States history.

[budroux2w]

[The Annoyed Man]

Finally, order has been restored to the universe. Welcome back Joe, and thanks for taking up the historical cudgel again.