Until the latter part of 1863 the Union was unable to hamper the growing
cotton traffic from Texas to Mexico. According to the United States Navy
Department, there were frequently several hundred ships standing off the
mouth of the Rio Grande depositing goods in the Matamoros-Bagdad area
and picking up Texas cotton for trans-oceanic shipment. Before the war,
scarcely a half-dozen vessels visited these Mexican towns each year.[73]
Because the Rio Grande was an international body of water, the Union was
unable to blockade it. Foreign vessels, claiming to be trading with
Mexico, could not legally be denied use of it. About the only way that
this trade could be neutralized was for a Federal force to seize the
Texas side of the river and to establish a patrol system to intercept
all cotton haulers.[74] Most cotton for the Mexican trade was
transported overland by ox wagon from agricultural regions for distances
of up to five hundred miles or more. Convoys of three to fifteen
ponderous wagons, well equipped with food and water, would normally take
about three months to complete a round trip to the Rio Grande. Once
across the river, the bales would be exchanged for blankets, shoes,
powder, and chemicals used in the manufacturing and servicing of weapons
of war.[75]
A small portion of Texas cotton was carried to the outside world by
blockade runners. When the Union tightened its blockade against the
southeastern part of the Confederacy, a number of runners shifted their
bases of operation to the less closely patrolled coast of Texas. By 1863
Tampico, Vera Cruz, and Belize (British Honduras) had become rendezvous
areas for cotton runners and cotton purchasers.[76] To gain maximum
benefit from cargo space available in ships that were to run the
blockade, screw-jacks were used to compress the bales of cotton into
holds. It soon became a source of pride among stevedores to force the
greatest number of bales into a given ship. In fact one unfortunate
vessel was sunk when "over-ambitious bale handlers compressed the cargo
through the bottom of the ship."[77]
Weapons and ammunition continued to be critically short in Texas.
General Magruder, in 1863, estimated that 40,000 arms were needed to
defend the Department of the Trans-Mississippi West.[78] With only a
trickle of guns coming from outside sources, the state continued to urge
local craftsmen to produce them. A cartridge factory was set up in the
old land office building in Austin. Also in the capital city were a cap
factory and a state foundry. Another cap factory, that used home-made
machinery, was in Gillespie County. A limited number of firearms were
fabricated in Rusk (Whitescarver and Campbell Co.) and near Tyler
(Short, Biscoe and Co.) Elsewhere, tiny weapons shops were busy in
Dallas County, and in the towns of Columbia, Lancaster, and
Marshall.[79]
The first half of 1863 saw campaigning in the Mississippi Valley that
was seriously to affect the future of Texas. United States forces sought
to wrest control of the great river from the Southerners. As Grant
maneuvered to take Vicksburg, northern Confederate stronghold on the
great river, Banks moved through Louisiana in preparation for an
onslaught against Port Hudson, lowest Mississippi River point still held
by the South. To scatter and confuse enemy defenders, Banks advanced on
Port Hudson in such a way as to endanger key points in Louisiana.[80]
These disruptive thrusts caused many Louisiana planters to bring their
slaves into Texas to escape possible capture.[81] Also, Banks' probes
caused many Texas regiments to be shifted to Louisiana, where they were
to assist in blocking Banks' column. Pyron's Regiment was one such Texas
force. As it hurried from Galveston towards Niblett's Bluff, on the
Sabine River enroute to Louisiana, a distinguished British military
observer reported on the unit's appearance as it paraded by:
First came eight or ten instruments braying discordantly, then an
enormous Confederate flag, followed by about four hundred men moving
by fours--dressed in every variety of costume, and armed with every
variety of weapon; about sixty had Enfield rifles; the remainder
carried shot-guns (fowling pieces), carbines or long rifles of a
peculiar and antiquated manufacture. None had swords or bayonets--all
had six-shooters and bowie knives.[82]
Finally, when Banks withdrew to the east of the Mississippi River and
proceeded to concentrate against Port Hudson, most Texas commands in the
area were shifted to the Red River Valley of northern Louisiana.[83]
That summer the Union forces captured Vicksburg and Port Hudson, thus
gaining full control of the Mississippi River. By instituting a very
tight gunboat patrol system, the Union was able to transform this river
into a formidable barrier that cut the Southwest away from other states
of the Confederacy.[84] To size up the new situation Lieutenant General
Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate Department of the
Trans-Mississippi West, called for a conference with the governors of
Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri. The meeting was held at
Marshall in mid-August of 1863. The key question to be discussed was
that of Kirby Smith's powers. While the governors showed a reluctance to
admit it, the General would obviously have to become virtual dictator of
the isolated trans-Mississippi region. Only in that way could the states
involved gain the vital strength in leadership that would allow them to
remain undefeated. Tacit recognition of Kirby Smith's need for extensive
control was indicated by the governors' agreement that he should
supervise all defenses and oversee all future cotton transactions with
Mexico.[85]
As the Marshall Conference was in progress, the Union War Department
ordered an invasion of Texas. In view of French gains against the Juarez
government of Mexico, General Banks was told that "there are important
reasons why our flag should be restored in some points of Texas with the
least possible delay."[86] Left to his own discretion as to the exact
point of attack, Banks decided to land an expedition at Sabine Pass. The
main defense of the Pass was an unimpressive earthwork named Fort
Griffin which commanded the narrows about one and a half miles below
Sabine City. The fort had six guns and was manned by Company "F" of the
First Texas Heavy Artillery. This particular unit, under Captain F. H.
Odlum and Lieutenant Dick Dowling, was composed of Irish stevedores who
had been recruited in Houston and Galveston.
At midnight on September 6, a sentry sighted ship signals off the coast.
Because the company commander was absent, Dowling assumed command of the
fort. By mid-morning a fleet of twenty-two transport ships and five
gunboats was standing off Sabine Pass. On board the vessels was an
invasion force of 5,000 men. Until the following dawn the ships stood
off the narrows, and then the shelling of Fort Griffin commenced.
Dowling, who wished to draw the enemy closer, offered no fire in
response. Finally, when three of the enemy gunboats had been lured to
within a very close range, the Confederate cannoneers opened with a
tremendous barrage of fire. In forty-five minutes the battle ended with
Dowling the complete victor. His guns sank two gunboats, damaged one,
and drove off the remaining ships. He took three hundred and fifty
prisoners, killed almost one hundred men, and gained a number of Federal
weapons and supplies. No injuries were suffered on the Southern side,
although some of Dowling's guns were almost ruined by the heat of the
rapid firing. The men of the company were highly honored for this
success, and their incredible victory served to boost the morale of
Texas and of the Confederate cause.[87]
Several months later, a second plan by Banks to take Sabine Pass by an
overland march from Louisiana was ruled out due to communication
difficulties. Then, in November, the determined Banks succeeded in
landing 7,000 troops, including a Negro regiment, on the Brazos de
Santiago bar at the mouth of the Rio Grande. When Brigadier General
Hamilton P. Bee learned of this at his headquarters in nearby
Brownsville, he realized that his 1,200 soldiers could not defend the
city. So, on November 3, 1863, Bee and his men evacuated the burning
border town.[88] With the Matamoros trade route thus closed by the Union
seizure of Brownsville, cotton for Mexico would now have to be hauled
either through Laredo, two hundred thirty-five miles upstream from
Brownsville, or through Eagle Pass, ninety miles up the river from
Laredo. As for continuing the occupation of the Rio Grande Valley, Union
commanders agreed that such an effort would involve the use of an
unjustified number of regiments.[89]
Elsewhere along the coast, Union troops were similarly active. By the
end of 1863 the Federals had limited forces at Corpus Christi, Mustang
Island, Pass Cavallo, Saint Joseph's Island, Indianola, and Port Lavaca.
Except for Galveston the enemy controlled the principal coastal towns of
the state.[90] But, as Confederate officers and state leaders called for
more men and desperately planned to regain Texas ports, high strategic
considerations in Washington caused the Union to evacuate most of the
occupied coast. It was again a matter of tying up too many regiments,
forces that would be needed in 1864 for a massive invasion of the Red
River Valley, an action that might well cause the fall of the whole
southwest.[91] Gradually the invaders withdrew until the only force
remaining on the coast was a strong command located near Brownsville.
Near the end of 1863 the Texans again held a gubernatorial election.
When the able Lubbock announced that he would not seek office again, the
contest was between Pendleton Murrah and T. J. Chambers. In a dull
campaign the ailing Murrah easily won.[92]