DUANE
Duane's take
The marker at Norris Bridge in Calhoun County is the source of this story, and I'm just the one lucky enough to tell it. November of 1863. The Civil War is raging, but most of the fighting is far to the east and south.
Texas, by and large, is watching from a distance. Then the Union Army arrives in Calhoun County, and things get considerably less quiet. The Union wanted Fort Esperanza — a Confederate stronghold sitting right on Pass Cavallo, the entrance to Matagorda Bay.
To get there, they needed to push through the Texas coast. And on the morning of December 26th, 1863 — the day after Christmas, mind you — Union forces and Texas Rangers found themselves face to face on the banks of Chocolate Bayou. The Union army was trying to reach Lavaca, what's now called Port Lavaca, and the only way across that bayou was the Norris Bridge.
Forty Texas Rangers standing between three thousand Union soldiers and that bridge. Forty versus three thousand. You do not need a head for numbers to understand those odds.
Now here's where both sides, Union and Texan alike, told the story the same way. The Rangers saw that massive infantry coming and tried to set the bridge on fire. The Union soldiers put out the fire and started sending shells toward the Texans.
The Rangers held their ground until their captain — a man who understood mathematics even if he didn't like the answer — gave the order to retreat. And those Rangers scattered on horseback in every direction, which gave them a considerable edge over soldiers moving on foot. As for casualties?
Almost none. And the reason for that is one of the more remarkable footnotes of the Texas front. There was a herd of cows on a distant hill.
The Union Army, scanning that hillside, mistook that herd for the enemy. They trained their guns on those cows and shot every last one of them. The only actual fatality in the Battle of Norris Bridge was a Union officer struck by a musket shot through the thigh.
Three thousand soldiers, all that firepower — and the biggest casualty count was livestock. The bridge itself took its name from A.W. Norris, who purchased the bridge property in 1857 and ran it as a toll operation.
When the battle was done, the bridge had been damaged by the Texans' attempted burning, and Norris's nearby house had been vandalized by the Union Army. A.W. Norris, it seems, got a hard day out of the deal no matter which side you were on.
This brief, strange encounter — forty Rangers, three thousand soldiers, one unlucky officer, and an innocent herd of cows — stands as one of the rare moments when two armies actually met on the Texas front. Brief and lopsided as it was, it's exactly the kind of story that reminds you the war found its way into every corner of this country, even on a December morning on the banks of Chocolate Bayou.
What the marker says
In November of 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, the Union Army arrived in Calhoun County. Union and Texas troops rarely met on the field of Battle in Texas, as most of the war was concentrated in the east and south of the country. The union wanted to take Fort Esperanza that was located on pass Cavallo, the entrance to Matagorda Bay. On the morning of December 26, 1863, the union army and Texas rangers met on the banks of Chocolate Bayou. The union army was trying to get to Lavaca, current day port Lavaca, via the Norris Bridge over Chocolate Bayou. What occurred next was told similarly by both sides, stating that the group of 40 Texas Rangers tried to set fire to the bridge when they saw the large infantry approaching. Union soldiers put out the fire and started firing shells at the Texans. The rangers stood their ground until their captain gave orders to retreat, considering there were 40 of them versus three thousand Union Soldiers. The Texans scattered in all directions on horseback, giving them advantage over the union infantry. Attributing to the lack of casualties was a herd of cows on a distant hill that the Union Army mistook as the enemy. They trained their guns on this herd and shot all of the cows. The only fatality during the battle was a Union Officer felled by a musket shot through the thigh. This brief encounter at the battle of Norris Bridge was one of the rare engagements of armies on the Texas front. Norris Bridge was named after A.W. Norris, who purchased the bridge property in 1857 and operated the bridge on a toll basis. In addition to the damage to the bridge by the Texans, Norris" nearby house was vandalized by the Union Army.