After Texas seceded from the Union at the onset of the Civil War, the state's ports were included in a Union blockade of the South. Sabine Pass's proximity to Galveston made it a strategic point for both the Union and Confederacy. In January 1863, Gen. John B. Magruder, commander of the Confederate Military District of Texas, ordered an assault on the two sentry Union warships in an attempt to open Sabine Pass for shipping. Using cottonclads, riverboats armored with cotton bales that afforded effective protection from enemy fire, Confederate forces under Maj. Oscar W. Watkins engaged the Union blockaders. This small fleet, consisting of the Uncle Ben and the Josiah H. Bell, was designated the Second Squadron of Magruder's Navy. On board the Josiah H. Bell, the Davis Guard of the First Texas Heavy Artillery, an all-Irish unit, served under Lt. Richard "Dick" Dowling. It manned a Columbiad artillery piece, supported by sharpshooters from the 2nd Texas Cavalry and Spaight's Battalion; additional forces from Spaight's Battalion served similar roles on the Uncle Ben. In the battle on Jan. 21, 1863, the cottonclads seized the initiative, and the engagement lasted roughly two hours. The frigate Morning Light was neutralized first, compelling the lesser-armed Velocity, a converted blockade runner, to strike its colors. Union casualties were minimal, but the battle resulted in the capture of the two ships, $10,000 worth of supplies, and 109 Union prisoners of war. Although it only temporarily lifted the Union blockade and presaged a decisive battle later in 1863, the fight demonstrated that the Davis Guard had the ability to defend the Texas coast successfully.
