Union Combined Operations in the Civil War

5 Union Combined Operations on the Texas Coast, 1863–64

5 Union Combined Operations on the Texas Coast, 1863–64 John P. Fisher A braham Lincoln’s announcement of a blockade of the Southern coast on April 19, 1861, inaugurated the strategy, derisively labeled the ‘‘Anaconda Plan’’ by its critics, to seal off the rebels from the outside world while a Union naval flotilla and land force engaged in a combined movement down the Mississippi to cut the Confederacy in two. While the blockade remained its primary focus, the numerous duties of the navy included raiding the Confederate seacoast, transporting military forces, providing gunfire support , cooperating in the capture of port cities, and participating in riverine warfare . All these features were evident along the coast of Texas, where the West Gulf Blockading Squadron operated against places like Galveston and Sabine Pass. But naval leaders soon discovered that without army support, the navy alone could not hold positions on the coast against Confederate counterattacks, and as a result the naval victories of 1862 were both incomplete and temporary.1 The Strategy Board or Blockade Board—created by Gideon Welles in June 1861—consisted of both navy and army representatives and suggested a highlevel commitment to interservice cooperation. Captain Samuel F. Du Pont, former commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard; A. D. Bache, superintendent of the Coast Survey; and Major John G. Barnard of the army engineers served on the board. When considering the approach to be taken in the Gulf of Mexico , the board decided to partition the region into six divisions based on geographic features and different degrees of settlement. The sixth division consisted of part of the Louisiana coast and the entire shoreline of Texas from Grand Pass, Vermilion Bay, to the Rio Grande. Like other Southern coastal states, Texas possessed an extensive shoreline with numerous rivers, inlets, and small port towns. The shallow waters along the bars of these inlets prohibited the entry of large vessels, but a significant overseas and coastal trade did exist. Large barrier islands and peninsulas protected the inner shoreline, which extended almost the entire length of the Texas coast. Though the coast of Texas never ranked high on the list of Union naval and military priorities, its significance increased throughout the war for diplomatic and economic reasons.2 John P. Fisher 57 With the onset of active operations, an ambitious squadron commander, Flag Officer William Mervine, planned to bring an end to blockade-running through Sabine Pass and Galveston, interdict coastal shipping through the interior bays, establish control of the mouth of the Rio Grande, and make Texans feel the war’s pressure. Mervine dispatched naval forces to the western Gulf with orders to capture blockade-runners, attack coastal shipping, occupy strategic shore positions, and shell Confederate defenses. In the summer of 1862, Union naval raids along the poorly defended South Texas coast, including the bombardment of Corpus Christi in August, demoralized that region’s residents and military forces.3 The next month the new commander of the West Gulf Squadron, Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assembled a fleet of five vessels for a direct assault on Galveston. Farragut ordered Commander William Renshaw to fill up with coal at Ship Island and proceed to the coast of Texas to capture blockaderunners , attack coastal defenses, and gain ‘‘command of the inland navigation.’’ Farragut also suggested that Renshaw should capture Galveston itself if the city were not too heavily defended.4 In October, Renshaw’s ships bombarded the forts defending Galveston and compelled the defenders to flee the city. A truce gave the Confederates time to abandon Galveston, and by October 8, when the island fell to the Union fleet, a large majority of the population had left their homes. The Confederates thus lost the most important city on the Texas coast and suffered a considerable psychological blow, and the Union navy occupied a significant strategic position in the western Gulf. If properly developed and garrisoned, Galveston could serve as a valuable base to enforce the blockade, supply and maintain the fleet, and carry out assaults against the eastern and western Texas coasts.5 Sabine Pass emerged as another early target of opportunity for the Union blockading fleet. At the northeastern extremity of the Texas coast, Sabine Pass played an important role in the trade of East Texas because the town of Orange, thirty-five miles to the north, connected Texas and Louisiana via the Opelousas Railroad. During the first year of the war, much of the local economy’s...