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:

1 online resource (289 p.)

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

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 handful 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:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter One. Setting the Scene

Chapter Two. The Admiral and the Forts

Chapter Three. Attacking Texas

Chapter Four. From Bar to Battle

Chapter Five. Cottonclads with Cannon

Chapter Six. Planning a Victory

Chapter Seven. Texas Is the Target

Chapter Eight. Sabine Pass as a Stepping-Stone

Chapter Nine. The Navy Makes Its Plans

Chapter Ten. The Expedition Departs

Chapter Eleven. Revising the Plan

Chapter Twelve. ‘‘Hold the Fort at All Hazards’’

Chapter Thirteen. Attack of the Gunboats

Chapter Fourteen. Praise and Blame

Chapter Fifteen. The War Ends for Fort Griffin

Conclusion

Appendix One. Report of Lieut. R.W. Dowling, Company ‘‘F,’’ Cook’s (Texas) Artillery, Concerning the Battle of Sabine Pass

Appendix Two. Annotated List of Sabine Pass Battle Participants

Appendix Three. Union Casualties at the Battle of Sabine Pass

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-292-79764-8

OCLC:

607937445