DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker at the mouth of Caney Creek tells this story, and here's how I tell it. Now, if you want to understand what happened out here on this stretch of the Texas Gulf Coast, you've got to understand what the Federal forces were after. During the Civil War — 1861 to 1865 — they tried several times to seize Texas ports.
Several times. Because Texas ports meant supply lines, and supply lines meant everything. They had some early success, too.
Galveston was taken on October 5, 1862. But hold on — a Confederate army came back and recaptured it on January 1, 1863. Then on September 8 of that same year, Lt.
Dick Dowling's troops stopped a Federal invasion cold at Sabine Pass. The Federal forces kept at it, though. They were not done.
November 7, 1863 — that's when another thrust began. A Federal expedition under Major General N. P.
Banks seized Brownsville, then started movin' up the coast. Corpus Christi. Aransas Pass.
Pass Cavallo. And Port Lavaca fell on December 26. One by one, like dominoes fallin' toward everything that mattered.
That's when Major General John B. Magruder, Confederate commander of Texas, looked at a map and did not like what he saw. He ordered the fortification of the mouth of Caney Creek — right here — in an attempt to halt the invasion.
In January of 1864, they got to work. An earthen fortress went up. Rifle pits.
Trench works. Four redoubts. And somewhere between four thousand and six thousand Confederate troops dug in and waited.
Federal gunboats came and bombarded the area through January and into February. No ground combat occurred at Caney Creek — and that right there is worth sayin' slowly, because the silence of an attack that never came is its own kind of story. The preparations deterred a further Federal advance.
All that earthwork, all those rifle pits — they held the line without a single ground battle. Then in March of 1864, General Banks moved most of his troops to Louisiana and launched an invasion along Texas' eastern border. That one didn't go well for him either.
With Federal forces pulled off those key Texas ports, blockade runners were free to continue transportin' needed materials to Civil War Texas. The mouth of Caney Creek never became famous the way Sabine Pass did. But sometimes the battle that doesn't happen is exactly the battle that needed to happen.
What the marker says
During the Civil War (1861-65), Federal forces tried several times to seize Texas ports. Galveston was taken on October 5, 1862, but recaptured by a Confederate army on January 1, 1863. Lt. Dick Dowling's troops stopped a Federal invasion at Sabine Pass on Sept. 8, 1863. Another thrust began on November 7, 1863, when a Federal expedition under Maj. Gen. N. P. Banks seized Brownsville, then moved up the coast, capturing Corpus Christi, Aransas Pass, Pass Cavallo, and Port Lavaca (Dec. 26). Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder, Confederate commander of Texas, ordered fortification of the mouth of Caney Creek in an attempt to halt the invasion. In Jan. 1864, an earthen fortress, rifle pits, trench works, and four redoubts were erected near this site. Defended by 4000-6000 Confederates, the area was bombarded by Federal gunboats during January and February. No ground combat occurred at Caney Creek, but the preparations deterred a further Federal advance. In March 1864, Gen. Banks moved most of his troops to Louisiana and launched an unsuccessful invasion along Texas' eastern border. Removal of Federal forces from key Texas ports allowed blockade runners to continue transporting needed materials to Civil War Texas. (1976)