Second battle at the Sabine Pass
| date | September 8, 1863 |
|---|---|
| place | Jefferson County , Texas |
| output | Southern victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
|
4 gunboats and 7 troop carriers
|
Texan Davis Guards (44 men)
|
| losses | |
|
100
|
Unknown (probably none or few)
|
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The Second Battle at Sabine Pass was a battle of the Civil War that took place in Texas on September 8, 1863 and ended in the defeat of the Northern States .
backgrounds
In 1863 the Confederates still hoped to be officially recognized by the great nations of the world, especially France. Emperor Napoléon III. continued to seek to restore the French empire in the New World. In June 1863, French troops captured Mexico City and overthrew Benito Juárez . The Confederates, for their part, had already made alliances with provincial princes who were hostile to Juarez near the Texas border. When the Confederates realized they had common interests with the clerical monarchists and the hacienda owners, who also employed day laborers, they welcomed and supported France's approach . When France made it clear that Archduke Maximilian was to become Emperor of Mexico , a Confederate delegation contacted Maximilian. He was promised support in his endeavors if, in return, he campaigned for the Confederates under Emperor Napoleon in order to get support and official recognition from France as well.
After taking Vicksburg and Port Hudson , Grant and Banks actually wanted to continue their campaign towards Mobile. But through interventions by the Lincoln government - the US government had been on friendly terms with Benito Juárez - and because they wanted to nip any danger that might arise in the bud, they turned to Texas first.
The Sabine Pass, located on the Texas and Louisiana border, is the Sabines river drain into the Gulf of Mexico and was a major center for the shipping and trading of cotton in exchange for food, arms and medicine during the Civil War. Union ships tried to block the port along the Gulf coast. Nonetheless, blockade breakers repeatedly managed to get through to the port and maintain supplies to the south. To protect the harbor, Fort Griffin was built in the middle of the marshland of East Texas .
The battle
In September 1863, 11 Union ships drove up the Sabine Pass to drop invasion troops with a strength of about 5,000 men in Texas at Fort Griffin, which was not yet completely completed, and to take the fort. The Confederate troops guarding the fort were warned of the approaching boats. The fort's crew consisted of 42-46 Texans, mostly Irish immigrants from Galveston and Houston , under the command of Lieutenant Richard Dowling (1838-1867), a Houston businessman. The entire crew was deemed to have been transferred to Fort Griffin.
On September 8, 1863, the fort was besieged by the Union boats. William B. Franklin began withdrawing his invading forces when Dowling and his men, who had six cannons at their disposal, returned fire. After 45 minutes, three Union boats were destroyed. The USS Clifton ran aground and was forced to surrender. Franklin's embarrassment led to the withdrawal of the Union fleet. The losses on the Union side amounted to 100 dead and wounded. Around 350 men were taken prisoner.
The battlefield today
Today the Sabine Pass is a busy waterway to the major Texas oil refineries. Nothing can be seen of the former Fort Griffin. The time, erosion and sewerage of Sabine Pass have destroyed all visible evidence of the fort. The exact location of the fort is also no longer known today. To commemorate the occupation of the fort, a memorial and the Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Park were erected on a small elevation near the possible location of the fort. The memorial depicts Dowling, shirtless, as a 7-foot bronze statue, holding a torch in one hand and binoculars in the other. The names of his subordinates are also immortalized on it.
literature
- Edward Terrel Cotham: Sabine Pass: The Confederacy's Thermopylae. University of Texas Press, 2004, ISBN 0292705948
- Richard V. Francaviglia: From Sail to Steam: Four Centuries of Texas Maritime History, 1500-1900. University of Texas Press, 1998, ISBN 0292725035
Individual evidence
- ↑ Edward Terrel Cotham: Sabine Pass: The Confederacy's Thermopylae. University of Texas Press, 2004, pp. 83-87, ISBN 0292705948
- ^ A b Edward Terrel Cotham: Sabine Pass: The Confederacy's Thermopylae. University of Texas Press, 2004, pp. 4-5, ISBN 0292705948
- ^ Rodman L. Underwood: Waters of Discord: The Union Blockade of Texas During the Civil War. McFarland, 2003, pp. 98-99, ISBN 0786416556
- ↑ Laurence Parent: Official Guide to Texas State Parks and Historic Sites. University of Texas Press, 2008, ISBN 0292717261
Web links
- American Civil War: Sabine Pass (English)
- Texas State Parks: Sabine Pass State Park and Historic Battlefield (English)
Coordinates: 29 ° 43 ′ 13.8 " N , 93 ° 52 ′ 14.7" W.