United States Forces at the Battle of Sabine Pass

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker at Sabine Pass tells it, and I'm gonna do it justice. Now, the Union forces had been on a roll in 1863. New Orleans — taken.

Vicksburg — taken. And with that momentum at their backs, Federal leaders turned their eyes west. General Nathaniel P.

Banks had a plan, and it was not a small one. Five thousand troops, going by sea, to capture Sabine Pass and plant a land base right there on the Texas coast. The idea was for those men to push up the Sabine River and link up later with troops Banks himself was leading overland through Louisiana — a sweeping pincer move into Texas.

They also wanted to get their hands on valuable stocks of cotton and cut off any French troops that might come north from Mexico to aid the Confederacy. Banks was thinking big. So the Federal ships carrying all those men and all that materiel came together beyond the sandbars, and on September 8, 1863, they began to steam north through the pass.

They could see it plain as day — a Confederate installation called Fort Griffin, sitting right there guarding the pass. They opened fire. And got nothing back.

Silence. Now, that kind of quiet from a fort you just shelled — that'll give a man confidence. So the fleet kept coming.

They came within twelve hundred yards of that fort. And then Fort Griffin answered. Cannon fire came back hard enough to disable two gunboats — the U.S.S.

Clifton and the U.S.S. Sachem. Both gunboats surrendered.

And the rest of that fleet, all those ships carrying five thousand men and their grand Texas ambitions, turned around and retreated. The captured Union troops were taken to Beaumont. The next day they were transported to Camp Groce at Hempstead, northwest of Houston.

From there, the paths split. Enlisted men were sent to Louisiana to be exchanged for Confederate prisoners. But the commissioned Federal officers — they were sent to Camp Ford, outside of Tyler, where they would be detained for the remainder of the war.

And here the marker slows down and makes sure you don't romanticize any of it. Because the lives of prisoners of war — Confederate and Union alike, throughout the North and the South — were grim. Limited food.

Limited clothing. Limited bedding and medical supplies. There's no glory in that part of the story for anybody.

What the marker does say plainly is this: the battle at Sabine Pass was decisive. It allowed the Confederacy to maintain control of the Texas coastline for the duration of the war. Five thousand men.

Two gunboats. Twelve hundred yards. That's how close the whole plan came to working — and exactly how far it fell short.

What the marker says

United States Forces at the Battle of Sabine Pass Federal forces in the Civil War failed in most of their early efforts to capture Texas. In the fall of 1863, after taking New Orleans and Vicksburg, their leaders attacked Western Louisiana in a renewed effort. They wished to divert valuable stocks of cotton from Confederate to federal uses, and to cut off French troops who might come from Mexico to aid the Confederacy. General Nathaniel P. Banks, U.S.A., ordered 5,000 troops to go by sea, capture Sabine Pass, and establish a land base here. His objective was for these men to move up the Sabine River and rendezvous later with troops he was leading overland through Louisiana for a sweep into Texas. Federal ships transporting men and materiel converged beyond the sandbars, and on September 8, 1863, began to steam north through the pass. They saw a Confederate installation, Fort Griffin, guarding the pass, but got no response when they opened fire. When they came within 1,200 yards of the fort, however, cannon fire was returned, disabling the gunboats U.S.S. Clifton and U.S.S. Sachem. Both gunboats surrendered and the rest of the fleet retreated. Captured Union troops were taken to Beaumont. The next day, they were transported to Camp Groce at Hempstead (NW of Houston). From there, enlisted men were sent to Louisiana for exchange with Confederate prisoners. Commissioned federal officers were sent to Camp Ford, outside of Tyler, where they were detained for the remainder of the war. The lives of both Confederate and Union prisoners of war throughout the North and South were grim, with limited food, clothing, bedding and medical supplies. The decisive battle at Sabine Pass allowed the Confederacy to maintain control of the Texas coastline for the duration of the war. (1980, 2004)