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LTC Stephen F.
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Thanks SGT John " Mac " McConnell for reminding us about the Second battle at Sabine Pass, Texas. Both the first and second battles occurred in September [1862 and 1863 respectively].
Second Battle of Sabine PassBackground:
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 accurate fire from six cannons. The Confederate gunners at Fort Griffin had been sent there as a punishment. To break the day-to-day 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 and 28 Yankees were killed and 75 were wounded. 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.
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/sabinepass.html
The day before on September 7, Gen. William Franklin, in an attempt to gain a sheltered port and landing place for an invasion of Texas, sends troops on board transports into the mouth of the Sabine River, which forms the border between Texas and Louisiana. With 5,000 men transports and four gunboats, the gunboats begin shelling the fort from a distance, but doing no apparent damage. The Federal ships steam upriver to Sabine Pass and the one Rebel battery there, manned by 41 men of the 1st Texas Heavy Artillery, and consisting of 6 cannon. As the Federal vessels draw near to the pass, where shallow water forces them into a narrow channel close to Fort Griffin, Lt. Richard Dowling and his gunners wait until the Yankee ships were within 400 yards, and open fire with a surprisingly accurate fire. The Texan gunners load and fire fast, and soon two of the gunboats---the USS Sachem and the Clifton---have been disabled and have struck their colors. The other two gunboats are damaged, with the USS Arizona having run aground. The Arizona is eventually pulled free and the flotilla all come about and head back down the river, with the transports, and steam slowly back to New Orleans in defeat. The Federals lose 200 men killed, wounded, or captured. The Rebels lose no men, not even wounded. Confederate Victory.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+8%2C+1863
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186309


Images: Sabine Pass map; 1863-09-08 Sabine Pass Capture Of Federal Gunboats Sachem & Clifton; 1863-09-08 The Battle of Sabine Pass Map Sketch; 1862-09-24 the first battle at Sabine Pass 24th and 25th of September 1862
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Wayne Brandon Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown 1stSgt Eugene Harless SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx TSgt Joe C. SP5 Robert Ruck SP5 Mark Kuzinski SrA Christopher Wright SGT Robert George CPL Eric Escasio SPC (Join to see) MSG Andrew White SGT (Join to see)
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SGT John " Mac " McConnell
SGT John " Mac " McConnell
7 y
Thanks for the addition LTC Stephen F. .
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SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth
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Great video, and read John. Thank you for the great share.
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SGT John " Mac " McConnell
SGT John " Mac " McConnell
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My pleasure David.
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SSgt Donald Libby
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Thanks for sharing. I have always been interested in the Civil War. This was a barrle I really never looked at closely.
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SGT John " Mac " McConnell
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