The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 21, July 1917 - April, 1918 Page: 365
434 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
The United States Gunboat Harriet Lane 365
quiet again about the fleet, the advance was resumed. This was
the Confederate force under General John B. Magruder which had
been assembled at Houston and Virginia Point for the recapture of
the city. So quietly was the advance made that the fort and the
earthworks in and around the city were taken and manned by guns
brought from Virginia Point, and batteries were posted along the
waterfront to sweep the channel and barricades before the move-
ment was discovered and reported by a Federal sentinel and veri-
fied by Captain Sherive of the Forty-second Massachusetts. This
was between three and four o'clock in the morning of January 1.11
At four o'clock General Magruder personally fired the first gun
at Twentieth and Strand. This was the signal, and all batteries
and Fort Point opened fire, upon the fleet and the troops' barri-
cade. Meanwhile a force of five hundred infantry under com-
mand of Colonel J. J. Cook, with scaling ladders attacked the
wharf; but after wading into the bay breast deep they found their
ladders too. short and had to retreat. The fleet responded with a
galling fire, the distance not being over three hundred yards.
After an hour, as the Confederate gunboats had not arrived and
the land forces, without shelter except for stone buildings, had
suffered heavily, Magruder gave the order to withdraw.12 Before
the order could be executed the Confederate vessels were seen
coming down the western channel. They were the steamboat
Bayou City, Captain Henry S. Lubbock, armed with a brass thirty-
two-pound rifle cannon, served by Captain A. R. Weir, Lieutenant
J. V .Riley, and twelve artillerymen from Company B, Cook's
Regiment of the Arizona Brigade, and a force of some sixty rifle-
men sharpshooters of the same regiment under Colonel Tom Green;
the steamboat Neptune, Captain William H. Sangster, armed with
two twenty-four pounders, a force of artilerymen and sharpshoot-
ers from the company and regiment above mentioned; and the
hospital boats and tenders-the steamer John F. Carr under Cap-
tain John Y. Lawless, and the Lucy Gwinn commanded by Major
McKee. Both the Bayou City and the Neptune were barricaded
with cotton bales. The Bayou City's gun burst at the fourth dis-
charge, killing Captain Wier and wounding others of the gun
1VWn. P. Doran et al. In the report of W. S. Long to Houston the
time is fixed an hour earlier. Off. Recs., Ser. I, Vol. XV, 208-210.
12Magruder's Report to Cooper, Off. Recs., Ser. I, Vol. XV, 211-220.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 21, July 1917 - April, 1918, periodical, 1918; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101073/m1/371/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.