DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker records about the Matagorda Incident — and friend, this one deserves to be told slow. Late 1863. The Civil War is pressing hard against the Texas coast.
Union forces have stormed much of that coastline with one aim in mind: block the flow of goods and supplies moving through coastal ports. And one of the most important openings along that coast is Matagorda Bay, right where the Gulf of Mexico meets the Colorado River. That bay is shielded by a strip of land — the Matagorda Peninsula — and whoever holds that peninsula holds the key.
In December of that year, Union soldiers were reported to have landed on the Matagorda Peninsula, supported by Union gunboats offshore. The Confederate Naval Officer on hand, Captain James R. Marmion, didn't wait around to think it over.
He led his gunboats forward to face the Union ships across that peninsula. And on the morning of December 30, 1863, Confederate cavalry and the Union landing party opened fire. Captain Marmion's gunboats helped prevent the Union forces from successfully constructing fortifications.
Good news so far. But one Union ship broke off — left to gather reinforcements. And Marmion, being the kind of man who could read a situation, understood that he too needed more men to back up the cavalry already on that ground.
So that afternoon, he called upon Captain Edward S. Rugeley and his Company D of Brown's Regiment, Texas Cavalry. They had originally been stationed to defend the town of Matagorda itself.
But Marmion called them to report to his gunboat — to stage an amphibious assault on the peninsula. Now here is where the story takes its turn. That night, a combined total of fifty-seven men loaded into two boats headed for the shore of the peninsula.
A third boat carried the officers. Fifty-seven men, two boats, one cold December night on Matagorda Bay. And then the norther hit.
An extremely cold norther — the kind Texas coast people know in their bones — forced Captain Rugeley to call the transports to return to the gunboat. Short distance. Should have been simple.
But the boats were swamped in the storm. Twenty-two men died. Twenty-two.
In a storm. On their own side's retreat. Most Matagorda families were impacted by those deaths.
You sit with that a moment. Eventually the Union troops retreated, leaving Confederate forces in control of the peninsula. On paper, the Confederates held the ground.
But twenty-two men went into those waters on the night of December 30, 1863, and didn't come home to Matagorda. Sometimes a victory and a tragedy wear the exact same coat.
What the marker says
In late 1863, during the Civil War, Union forces stormed much of the Texas coast in an effort to block the flow of goods and supplies going through coastal ports. One of the most important port openings was the Matagorda Bay, where the Gulf of Mexico meets the Colorado River. The bay is shielded by a strip of land, the Matagorda Peninsula. In December that year, Union soldiers were reported to have on Matagorda Peninsula supported by Union gunboats. The present Confederate Naval Officer, Capt. James R. Marmion, led gunboats to face the Union ships across the peninsula. On the morning of December 30, 1863, Confederate cavalry and the Union landing party opened fire. Capt. Marmion’s gunboats helped prevent the Union forces from successfully constructing fortifications. One Union ship left to gather reinforcements, while Capt. Marmion realized that he too needed more men to support the cavalry Capt. Edward S. Rugeley and his Company D of Brown's Regiment, Texas Cavalry, were originally stationed to defend the town of Matagorda, but that afternoon Capt. Marmion called upon them to report to his gunboat to stage an amphibious assault, That night a combined total of 57 men took two boats to the shore of the peninsula as well as a third boat to carry officers. An extremely cold norther forced Capt. Rugeley to call the transports to return to the gunboat, Despite the short distance to retreat, the boats were swamped in the storm and 22 men died. Most Matagorda families were impacted by the deaths. Eventually the Union troops retreated, leaving the Confederate forces in control of the peninsula. (2015)