The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 51, July 1947 - April, 1948 Page: 124
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
and identify the enemy. The Harriet Lane, being not only the
nearest of the enemy craft but also being one of the best prizes
in the bay, was the subject of attack. Since the Confederate craft
would be no match for the Lane in an open fight, the only hope
for the lesser craft was to carry the enemy by boarding, and the
subsequent maneuvering was designed to carry out that aim. In
attempting to come alongside, both the Bayou City and the Nep-
tune collided with the Lane, doing her no serious damage but
causing the Neptune such damage that she soon sank in shoal
water. The Bayou City, which Hunter had condemned as a waste
of time, materiel, and effort, was made of sterner stuff, however,
and within a short time succeeded in making herself fast to the
Lane; the issue from that time was not in doubt, and the larger
vessel quickly succumbed to the troops on the Bayou City, who
forced the raising of the white flag in token of surrender. During
the engagement the commander of the Federal force afloat, Cap-
tain Renshaw (he had recently received a promotion) was kept
out of the conflict by a turn of fate; his vessel, the steamer West-
field, was aground and all the efforts of her commander, with
the help of the schooner Clifton, were to no avail in getting her
free. The gunboat Owasco and the Clifton had made an attempt
to aid the Lane, but the capture of the vessel had come too soon
to allow for their effective help. Although a few shots were fired
at the Confederate forces now in possession of the Lane, there
was no serious effort made to retake her because of the danger
to her crew, all of whom had been forced to the top deck by the
victorious commander. Within a short time all of the Union
ships were flying the flag of truce, and the ground commander
followed the lead of the ships at the first opportunity. The vic-
tory theirs, it now behooved the Confederates to consolidate
their position.:'"
3For accounts of the battle, consult the following correspondence, all of which
can be found in the Official Records, Series I, Vol. XIX, at the page indicated:
Magruder to Cooper, February 26, 1863, p. 470; Spear to Farragut, January 2,
1863, p. 438; Henry Wilson, of the USS Owasco, to Farragut, January 6, 1863, p.
439; Report of Court of Enquiry to Farragut, January 12, 1863, p. 447. For further
information see the following: X. B. Debray, A Sketch of the History of Debray's
Regiment of Texas Cavalry (1884); Clement A. Evans (ed.), Confederate Military
History, XI (1899); Robert M. Franklin, Battle of Galveston (1911); A. T. Mahan,
The Gulf and Inland Waters (1883); David D. Porter, The Naval History of the
Civil War (1885) ; J. Thomas Scharf, History of the Confederate Navy ... (1887) ;
Dudley G. Wooten, A Comprehensive History of Texar, II (1898).124
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 51, July 1947 - April, 1948, periodical, 1948; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101119/m1/166/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.