The Second Battle of Sabine Pass took place on September 8, 1863, and was the result of a Union expedition into Confederate-controlled Texas during the American Civil War. It has often been credited as the most one-sided Confederate victory during the conflict. This article is becoming very long. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... Year 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Jefferson County is a county located in the state of Texas. ... Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... Major General William B. Franklin William Buel Franklin (February 27, 1823 – March 8, 1903) was a career U.S. Army officer and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. ... Richard William Dick Dowling (1838 – 1867) was the victorious commander at the battle of Sabine Pass in the American Civil War and is considered Houston, Texass first prominent citizen and hero. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... Year 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ... Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... This article is becoming very long. ...

During the summer of 1863, the president of Mexico, Benito Juárez, was overthrown and replaced by the emperor Maximilian, whose allegiance was with France. France had been openly sympathetic to the Confederate States of America earlier in the war, but had never matched its sympathy with diplomatic action. Now that a French government existed just south of the Rio Grande, the Confederates hoped to establish a fruitful route of entry for much-needed matériel. Benito Pablo Juárez García () (March 21, 1806 – July 18, 1872) was a Zapotec Amerindian who served five terms [1] (1858–1861), (1861–1865), (1865–1867), (1867–1871), and (1871–1872), as President of Mexico. ... Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico, (Emperador Maximiliano I de México) (July 6, 1832 – June 19, 1867) was a member of Austrias Imperial Habsburg-Lorraine family. ... Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... Río Bravo redirects here. ... Matériel (from the French for equipment or hardware, related to the word material) is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management. ...

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was well aware of Confederate intentions and sent an expedition into Texas to establish a military presence and to discourage Maximilian from opening trade with the Confederacy. The Federal force was under the command of Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, a political general with little discernible command ability. Banks's original intent was to lead a combined army-navy expedition from the Mississippi River into the Red River. However, low water in the Red River prevented the Union gunboats from entering it. As a consequence, the expedition entered the Sabine River from the Gulf of Mexico. Banks ordered his subordinate, Major General William B. Franklin, to defeat a small Confederate detachment at Fort Griffin near the mouth of the river and capture Sabine City. The detachment consisted of 46 infantrymen of the 1st Texas Heavy Artillery and six guns manned by the Jeff Davis Guards — all under the command of Lieutenant Richard "Dick" Dowling. Considering the prominent size of the Union expeditionary force, disposing of this fort was not expected to prove any great challenge. The presidential seal was first used in 1880 by President Rutherford B. Hayes and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. ... Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809—April 15, 1865) was the 16th President of the United States (March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865). ... Nathaniel Prentiss Banks (January 30, 1816–September 1, 1894), American politician and soldier, was born at Waltham, Massachusetts. ... The Mississippi River, derived from the old Ojibwe word misi-ziibi meaning great river (gichi-ziibi big river at its headwaters), is the second-longest named river in North America, with a length of 2320 miles (3733 km) from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. ... Red River may refer to the following: Rivers Red River of the North, flows through Minnesota, North Dakota, and Manitoba, in the Red River Valley Red River of the South,, a. ... The Sabine River is shown highlighted, along with the Neches River The Sabine River is a river, 555 miles (893 km) long, in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. ... Gulf of Mexico in 3D perspective. ... Major General William B. Franklin William Buel Franklin (February 27, 1823 – March 8, 1903) was a career U.S. Army officer and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. ... Fort Griffin was a Cavalry fort established in the late 1860s in northwest Texas, specifically northwestern Shackelford County, to give settlers protection from early Comanche and Kiowa raids. ... Sabine Pass, Texas is a city located in Jefferson County, Texas, 15 miles south of Port Arthur, Texas, on the west bank of Sabine Pass, near the Louisiana border. ... Richard William Dick Dowling (1838 – 1867) was the victorious commander at the battle of Sabine Pass in the American Civil War and is considered Houston, Texass first prominent citizen and hero. ...

On the day of the battle, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Frederick Crocker entered the Sabine River with four gunboats, accompanied by eighteen troop transports containing 5,000 Federal infantrymen. Dowling's Texans had previously placed stakes in the river to act as markers for cannon fire. As the Union convoy entered among the stakes, the Confederates opened fire with deadly accuracy and wrought havoc on the vessels. The Yankees were forced to withdraw down the river after having lost two gunboats and 200 sailors captured. The Confederates are believed not to have suffered any casualties. A gunboat is literally a boat carrying one or more guns. ...

The Battle of Sabine Pass was of little tactical or strategic significance. A Confederate supply line from Mexico to Texas was never established, and in any case it could not have effectively supplied the states east of the Mississippi once the Union controlled the whole of that river after its victory at Vicksburg in July. The Confederacy was therefore forced to continue its reliance on blockade running to import valuable materiel and resources. Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders Ulysses S. Grant John C. Pemberton Strength 70,000 30,000 Casualties 10,142 9,091 (30,000 paroled) The Battle of Vicksburg, or Siege of Vicksburg, was the final significant battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil...

References

Texas Portal

• National Park Service battle description