Transcript Battles of the Civil War in Texas

Battles of the Civil War in Texas
By Roberto Lujan
Battle sites of the Five Battles of
the Civil War in Texas
Sabine Pass
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First Battle
Location: Jefferson County, Texas
Campaign: Operations to Blockade the Texas Coast (1862-63)
Date(s): September 24-25 1862
Principal Commanders: Acting Master Frederick Crocker (US); Maj. J.S.
Irvine (CS)
Forces Engaged: Steamer Kensington, Schooner Rachel Seamen, and
Mortar Schooner Henry James (US); Fort Griffith Garrison (30) and 25
mounted men 3 ½ miles away (CS)
Estimated Casualties: Unknown
Result(s): Union victory
Sabine Pass Sept 24-25 1862
First Battle
Description: On September 23,1862, the Union steamer Kensington,
Schooner Rachel Seaman, and Mortar Schooner Henry James appeared off
the bar at Sabine Pass. The next morning, the two schooners crossed the
bar, took position, and began firing on the Confederate shore battery. The
shots from both land and shore fell far short of the targets. The ships then
moved nearer until their projectiles began to fall amongst Confederate guns.
The Confederate cannons, however, still could not hit the ships. After dark,
the Confederates evacuated, taking as much property as possible with them
and spiking the four guns left behind. On the morning of the 25th, the
schooners moved up to the battery and destroyed it while Acting Master
Frederick Crocker, commander of the expedition, received the surrender of
the town. Union control of Sabine Pass made later incursions into the
interior possible.
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Location: Galveston County, Texas
Campaign: Operations to Blockade the Texas Coast (1862-63)
Date(s): October 4, 1862
Principal Commanders: Cdr. W.B. Renshaw, U.S.N. (US); Col. Joseph J.
Cook and Col. X.B. Debray (CS)
Forces engaged: None
Estimated Casualties: None
Result(s): Union Victory
Galveston October 4,1862
Second Battle
• Description: The U.S. Navy began a blockade of Galveston Harbor in
July 1861, but the town remained in Confederate hand for the next 14
months. At 6:30 am on October 4,1862, Cdr. W.B.Renshaw, commanding
the blockading ships in the Galveston Bay area, sent Harriet Lane into the
harbor, flying a flag of truce. The intention was to inform the military
authorities in Galveston that if the town did not surrender, the U.S. Navy
ships would attack; a one-hour reply would be demanded. Col. Joseph J.
Cook, Confederate military commander in the area, would not come out to
the Union ship or send an officer to receive the communications, so Harriet
Lane weighed anchor and returned to the fleet. Four Union steamers, with
a mortar boat in tow, enterd the harbor and moved to the same area where
Harriet Lane had anchored. Observing this activity, Confederates at Fort
Point fired one or more shots and the U.S. Navy ships answered.
Eventually, the Union ships disabled the one Confederate gun at Fort Point
and fired at other targets. Two Rebel guns from another location opened on
the Union ships.
Galveston October 4,1862
Second Battle
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The boat that Col. Cook had dispatched now approached the Union vessels
and two Confederate officers boarded U.S.S. Westfield. Renshaw
demanded an unconditional surrender of Galveston or he would begin
shelling. Cook refused Renshaw’s terms, and conveyed to Renshaw that
upon him rested the responsibility of destroying the town and killing
women, children, and aliens. Renshaw threatened to resume the shelling
and made preparations for towing the mortar boat into position. One of the
Confederate officers then asked if he could be granted time to talk to Col.
Cook again. This officer, a major, negotiated with Renshaw for a four-day
truce to evacuate the women, children, and aliens from the city. Cook
approved the truce but added a stipulation that if Renshaw would not move
troops closer to Galveston, Cook would not permit his men to come below
the city. This agreement was finalized but never written down, which later
caused problems. The Confederate did evacuate, taking all the weapons,
ammunition, supplies, and whatever they could carry with them.
Galveston October 4,1862
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Renshaw did not think that the agreement allowed for all this but, in the end,
did nothing, due to the lack of a written document. The fall of Galveston
meant that one more important Confederate port was closed to commerce.
But the port of Galveston was not shut down for long.
Galveston
Third Battle
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Location: Galveston County
Campaign: Operations against Galveston (1862-1863)
Date(s): January 1,1863
Principal Commanders: Col. Isaac S. Burrell and Cdr. W.B. Renshaw,
U.S.N. [US]; Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder [CS]
Forces Engaged: Companies D, G, and I, 42nd Massachusetts Volunteer
Infantry Regiment and the Blockading ships [US]; four Confederate
gunboats and district of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona troops [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 650 total (US 600; CS 50)
Result(s): Confederate Victory
Galveston
Third Battle
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Description; Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder, who became the Confederate
commander of military forces in Texas on November 29, 1862, gave the
recapture of Galveston top priority. At 3:00 am on New Year’s Day 1863,
four Confederate gunboats appeared, coming down the bay toward
Galveston. Soon afterward, the Rebels commenced a land attack. The
Union forces in Galveston were three companies of the 42nd Massachusetts
Volunteer Infantry Regiment under the command of Col. Issac S. Burrell.
The Confederates captured or killed all of them except for the regiment’s
adjutant. They also took Harriet Lane, by boarding her, and two barks and a
schooner. Cdr. W.B. Renshaw’s flagship, U.S.S. Westfield, ran aground
when trying to help Harriet Lane and, at 10:00 am, she was blown up to
prevent her capture by the Confederates. Galveston was in Confederate
hands again although the Union blockade would limit commerce in and out
of the harbor.
The Capture of the Harriet Lane
Sabine Pass II
Fourth Battle
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Location: Jefferson County
Campaign: Operations to Blockade the Texas Coast (1863)
Date(s): September 8,1863
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin and Capt. Frederick
Crocker, U.S.N. [US]; Lt. Richard W. Dowling [CS]
Forces Engaged; 4 gunboats and 7 transports loaded with troops [US];
Texas Davis Guards (44 men) [CS]
Estimated Casualties; (US 230; CS unknown)
Result(s): Confederate victory
Sabine Pass II
Fourth Battle
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Description: About 6:00 am on the morning of September 8,1863, a Union
flotilla of four gunboats and seven troop transports steamed into Sabine
Pass and up the Sabine River with the intention of reducing Fort Griffin and
landing troops to begin occupying Texas. As the gunboats approached Fort
Griffin, they came under fire from six cannons. The Confederates gunners
at Fort Griffin had been sent there as a punishment. To break the day-today monotony, the gunners practiced firing artillery at range markers placed
in the river. Their practice paid off. Fort Griffin’s small force of 44 men,
under command of Lt. Richard W. Dowling, forced the Union flotilla to retire
and captured the gunboat Clifton and about 200 prisoners. Further Union
operations in the area ceased for about a month. The heroics at Fort
Griffin—44 men stopping a Union expedition—inspired other Confederate
soldiers.
Battle at Palmetto
The Last Battle of the Civil War
62nd U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment
250 African-American soldiers took part
Palmetto Ranch
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Location: Cameron County
Campaign: Expedition from Brazos Santiago (1865)
Date(s): May 12-13, 1865
Principal Commanders: Col. Theodore H. Barrett [US]; Col. John S. “Rip”
Ford [CS]
Forces Engaged: Detachments from the 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry
Regiment, 2nd Texas Calvary Regiment and 34th Indiana Volunteer Infantry
[US]; Detachments form Gidding’s Regiment, Anderson’s Battalion of
Calvary, and numerous other Confederate units and souther sympathizers
[CS]
Estimated Casualties: Total unknown (US 118: CS unknown)
Results: Confederate victory
Description of the Palmetto Ranch
Battle
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Description: Since March 1865, a gentleman’s agreement precluded
fighting between Union and Confederate forces on the Rio Grande. In spite
of this agreement, Col. Theodore H. Barret, commanding forces at Brazos
Santiago, Texas, dispatched an expediton, composed of 250 men of the
62nd U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment and 50 men of the 2nd Texas Calvary
Regiment under the command of Lt. Col. David Branson, to the mainland,
on May 11, 1865, to attack reported Rebel outposts and camps. Prohibited
by foul weather from crossing to Point Isabel as instructed, the expedition
crossed to Boca Chica much later. At 2:00 am, on May 12, the expeditonary
force surrounded the Rebel outposts at White’s Ranch, but found no one
there. Exhausted, having been up most of the night, Branson secreted his
command in a thicket and among the weeds on the banks of the Rio
Grande and allowed his men to sleep. Around 8:30 am, people on the
Mexican side of the river informed the Rebels of the Federals’ whereabouts.
Branson promptly led his men off to attack a Confederate camp at Palmito
Ranch. After much skirmishing along the way, the Federals
Description of the Battle of Palmetto
Ranch
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Attacked the camp and scattered the Confederates. Branson and his men
remained at the site to feed themselves and their horses but, at 3:00 pm, a
sizable Confederate force appeared, influencing the Federals to retire to
White’s Ranch. He sent word of his predicament to Barret, who reinforced
Branson at daybreak, on the 13th, with 200 men of the 34th Indiana
Volunteer Infantry. The augmented force, now commanded by Barret,
started out towards Palmito Ranch, skirmishing most of the way. At Palmito
Ranch, they destroyed the rest of the supplies not torched the day before
and continued on. A few miles forward, they became involved in a sharp
firefight. After the fighting stopped, Barrett led his force back to a bluff at
Tulosa on the river where the men could prepare dinner and camp for the
night. At 4:00 pm, a large Confederate cavalry force, commanded by Col. .
John S. “Rip” Ford, approached, and the Federals formed a battle line. The
Rebels hammered the Union line with artillery. To preclude an enemy
flanking movement, Barrett ordered a retreat. The retreat was orderly and
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Skirmishers held the Rebels at a respectable distance. Returning to Boca
Chica at 8:00 pm, the men embarked at 4:00 am, on the 14th. This was the
last battle of the Civil War. Native, African, and Hispanic Americans were all
involved in the fighting. Many combatants reported that the firing came from
the Mexican shore and that some Imperial Mexican forces crossed the Rio
Grande but did not take part in the battle. This reports are unproven.
Resource Page
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http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/tx001.htm
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/tx002.htm
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/tx003.htm
http://www/nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/tx004.htm
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/tx005.htm