The Battle of Galveston or the Second Battle of Galveston was a naval and land battle that occurred on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 when Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 forces under Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder

John B. Magruder

John Bankhead Magruder was a career military officer who served in the armies of three nations. He was a U.S. Army officer in the Mexican-American War, a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and a postbellum general in the Imperial Mexican Army...

 attacked and expelled occupying Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 troops from the city of Galveston, Texas

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

.

The First Battle of Galveston was a naval engagement fought on October 4, 1862, during early Union attempts to blockade

Union blockade

The Union Blockade, or the Blockade of the South, took place between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War, when the Union Navy maintained a strenuous effort on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast of the Confederate States of America designed to prevent the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms...

 Galveston Harbor.

Battle

Two Confederate Cottonclads, The Bayou City and the Neptune, sailed from Houston to Galveston in an effort to engage the Union Fleet in Galveston Harbor. Outnumbered six to two by the Northern ships, the Neptune was severely damaged by the Union Fleet and eventually sank.
While the Neptune was quickly disabled, the Bayou City succeeded in capturing the USS Harriet Lane.

During this time, the was grounded on a sandbar. A three-hour truce was called for by Magruder, but Union Fleet Commander William B. Renshaw

William B. Renshaw

William Bainbridge Renshaw was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:...

, ignoring the negotiation offer, attempted to destroy the grounded Westfield with explosives rather than let it fall into enemy hands.

Renshaw and several Union troops were subsequently killed when the explosives were set off too early. Union troops on shore were convinced that their own ships were surrendering and, therefore, laid down their arms. The remaining U.S. ships did not surrender and succeeded in retreating to Union-controlled New Orleans.

Aftermath

The Union blockade around the city of Galveston was lifted temporarily for four days, and Galveston remained in Confederate hands for the remainder of the war.

The Confederate Congress stated this on the successful recapture of Galveston:

"The bold, intrepid, and gallant conduct of Maj. Gen. J. Bankhead Magruder, Col. Thomas Green, Maj. Leon Smith and other officers, and of the Texan Rangers and soldiers engaged in the attack on, and victory achieved over, the land and naval forces of the enemy at Galveston, on the 1st of January, 1863, eminently entitle them to the thanks of Congress and the country... This brilliant achievement, resulting, under the providence of God, in the capture of the war steamer Harriet Lane and the defeat and ignominious flight of the hostile fleet from the harbor, the recapture of the city and the raising of the blockade of the port of Galveston, signally evinces that superior force may be overcome by skillful conception and daring courage."

See also

• Major General John B. Magruder
  John B. Magruder
  John Bankhead Magruder was a career military officer who served in the armies of three nations. He was a U.S. Army officer in the Mexican-American War, a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and a postbellum general in the Imperial Mexican Army...
  
  
• C.S. Bayou City
  C.S. Bayou City
  C.S. Army Gunboat Bayou City was a 165-foot side-wheel steamboat built for commercial use at Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1859.Serving as a mail boat between Galveston and Houston, Texas, the ship was chartered on 26 September 1861 by Comdr. W...
  
  
• C.S. Neptune
  C.S. Neptune
  C.S. Army Tug Neptune was a wooden tugboat taken over by the Confederate Army in about 1862 for the Texas Marine Department...
  
  
• USS Harriet Lane
• Galveston, Texas
  Galveston, Texas
  Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
  
  

External links

• National Park Service battle description
• CWSAC Report Update
• The Battle of Galveston (1 January 1863) at Lone Star Junction
• Battle of Galveston at The Handbook of Texas Online