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On September 8, 1863, at Sabine Pass, Texas, Lt. Richard W. Dowling and the Davis Guard defeated the forces of General Nathaniel P. Banks and Admiral G. Farragut under the command of General William G. Franklin in a Confederate victory described by President Jefferson Davis as being "without parallel in ancient or modern warfare."

General Banks, commander of the Department of the Gulf, placed 15,000 men for this campaign under the immediate command of General Franklin who sailed August 29, 1863, from New Orleans with 5,000 soldiers on 18 transports of various types. The westward bound convoy was escorted by four heavily armed gunboats; the Cliffon, Sachem, Arizona and Granite City. Franklin was to sail up the Sabine Pass, land in the vicinity of Sabine City, advance to Beaumont seizing the railroad, and take Houston and Galveston from the North. The additional 10,000 men left in reserve would be brought from New Orleans to overcome all resistance in Texas.

The poorly defined Union rendezvous at the mouth of Sabine Pass was discovered and the act of surprise was lost. By September 6, the Confederate defenders knew a large Union force was approaching and although the Davis Guard (44 men) had permission to withdraw, they decided to defend the earthen fort.  More men had been stationed at Sabine City, but they had been sent to the Texas Frontier to defend against Comanche attack in the previous weeks.  Because Captain Odlum was acting as area commander in Sabine City, actual command at Fort Griffin fell to his young lieutenant, Richard W. (Dick) Dowling. 

The defending Confederates watched the Union gunboats advance up the Pass during the night of September 7. Captain Odlum sent for reinforcements from Beaumont and Orange, TX, which were loaded on transports and a cottonclad for the trip.  Next morning the Union guns shelled Fort Griffin, but Dowling withheld his fire until mid-afternoon when the attacking Sachem was only 1200 yards away. With one of their first rounds, the Davis Guard disabled the Sachem and then shifted fire to the Clifton. In 45 minutes the two vessels surrendered, the disembarking of the 500 man landing party was cancelled, and the remaining Union gunboats and transports withdrew to the Gulf and to New Orleans.

The incredible success of the Davis Guard gave heart to the Confederate forces. Dick Dowling and his men received commendations from their commanding generals, the Confederate Congress and President Davis. Texas remained an active state in the Confederacy.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Location: Jefferson County

Campaign: Operations to Blockade of the Texas Gulf Coast (1863)

Date(s): September 8, 1863

Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin and Capt. Frederick Crocker, U.S.N. [US]; Lt. Richard W. Dowling [CS]

Forces Engaged: 4 gunboats and 7 transports loaded with troops [US]; 1 cottonclad and the Texan Davis Guards (44 men) [CS]

Estimated Casualties: (US 400 men and 2 gunboats; CS 0)

Map Files -
  SPMain0.zip (131 Kb)
  SPMain1.zip (476 Kb)
  SPMain2.zip (1,872 Kb)
  SPMain3.zip (468 Kb)
Other files -
  SPOther.zip (267 Kb)
 Scenario files -
  SPScen.zip (1 Kb)

Unit file -
  SPUnits.zip (1,039 Kb)

Note: 

This battle was originally designed by Chris Silva and was posted by the NIR Project.  However, almost all of the files presented here have been modified from the original posting.

Scenario Note:

The strength number on naval vessels does not signify a number of guns, but the integrity of the vessel itself.  Elimination of the vessel signifies sinking, being disabled, or striking the colors.  Garrison guns and naval guns do not necessarily correspond to a particular weapon type since these varied within each vessel.  A gun type of K signifies a transport which cannot participate in combat.  In this game, naval and garrison guns are particularly devastating to infantry, so be wary.