Battle of Galveston

As part of the Union blockade of the Texas coast, Commander W. B. Renshaw led a small fleet into Galveston harbor to demand the surrender of this most important Texas port on October 4, 1862. Largely unguarded because it was considered indefensible, the city surrendered after an exchange of gunfire. After the loss of Galveston, Major General J. B. Magruder was placed in charge of Confederate forces in Texas and quickly organized a plan to recapture the island. Improvising a navy, he refitted two steamers as gunboats by lining their hulls with cotton and manning them with cavalry. Foot soldiers were sent into Galveston in the darkness of early morning on January 1, 1863. Though the ground forces failed to seize the wharf, they engaged some Union ships as the makeshift Confederate fleet surprised the Union navy from behind. The Confederate ship "Neptune" was sunk in shallow water, and the Federal "Harriet Lane" was boarded by the steamer "Bayou City." Renshaw's flagship, the "Westfield," was destroyed in an explosion that killed the commander and several crewmen. The remaining Union ships fled Galveston Bay despite demands for surrender, and Galveston remained under Confederate control for the duration of the war.

Galveston, Texas · United States