Sabine Pass : the Confederacy's Thermopylae / Edward T. Cotham, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cotham, Edward T. (Edward Terrel), 1953-

Series:

Clifton and Shirley Caldwell Texas heritage series ; no. 7.

Clifton and Shirley Caldwell Texas heritage series ; no. 7

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sabine Pass, Battle of, Tex., 1863.

Physical Description:

x, 274 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2004.

Summary:

In an 1882 speech, former Confederate president Jefferson Davis made an exuberant claim: "That battle at Sabine Pass was more remarkable than the battle at Thermopylae." Indeed, Sabine Pass was the site of one of the most decisive Civil War battles fought in Texas. But unlike the Spartans, who succumbed to overwhelming Persian forces at Thermopylae more than two thousand years before, the Confederate underdogs triumphed in a battle that over time has become steeped in hyperbole. Providing a meticulously researched, scholarly account of this remarkable victory, Sabine Pass at last separates the legends from the evidence. In arresting prose, Edward T. Cotham, Jr., recounts the momentous hours of September 8, 1863, during which a hanful of Texans -- almost all of Irish descent -- under the leadership of Houston saloonkeeper Richard W. Dowling, prevented a Union military force of more than 5,000 men, 22 transport vessels, and 4 gunboats from occupying Sabine Pass, the starting place for a large invasion that would soon have given the Union control of Texas. Sabine Pass sheds new light on previously overlooked details, such as the design and construction of the fort (Fort Griffin) that Dowling and his men defended, and includes the battle report prepared by Dowling himself. The result is a portrait of a mythic event that is even more provocative when stripped of embellishment.

Contents:

Chapter 2 The Admiral and the Forts 17

Chapter 3 Attacking Texas 25

Chapter 4 From Bar to Battle 36

Chapter 5 Cottonclads with Cannon 46

Chapter 6 Planning a Victory 64

Chapter 7 Texas Is the Target 83

Chapter 8 Sabine Pass as a Stepping-Stone 92

Chapter 9 The Navy Makes Its Plans 97

Chapter 10 The Expedition Departs 103

Chapter 11 Revising the Plan 110

Chapter 12 "Hold the Fort at All Hazards" 117

Chapter 13 Attack of the Gunboats 125

Chapter 14 Praise and Blame 159

Chapter 15 The War Ends for Fort Griffin 174

Appendix 1 Report of Lieut. R. W. Dowling, Company "F," Cook's (Texas) Artillery, Concerning the Battle of Sabine Pass 203

Appendix 2 Annotated List of Sabine Pass Battle Participants 205

Appendix 3 Union Casualties at the Battle of Sabine Pass 208.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [247]-262) and index.

ISBN:

0292706030

0292705948

OCLC:

54966263