Newton County News (Newton, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 53, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 20, 2011 Page: 2 of 8
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I
I
What’s Newton
County Got To Do
With The Battle Of
Sabine Pass?
By Pam Wright
Newton History Commission Chair
Although there were many skirmishes in Texas during
the Civil War and the state provided men and supplies to the
Confederacy, there were only five major battles. These five
were Sabine Pass 1, Sabine Pass 2, Galveston 1 and Galve-
ston 2 and Palmetto Ranch. Each of these locations involved
major ports or entry areas into the state.
It seems both the Federals and the Confederacy held
Sabine Pass in low esteem during the early months of the war.
Earlier in 1862, Northern Union forces had taken New Orleans
and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Federals made preparations
for its next target, East Texas! An armada of four gunboats and
20 transports were assembled and set sail from New Orleans
for Texas. The Union goal was the Sabine Pass, where
Louisiana and Texas met and the Sabine River flowed into the
Gulf of Mexico. Once the mouth of the Sabine was in Union
hands, much of East Texas would be vulnerable to the invader.
General Franklin hoped that Houston, Beaumont, and finally
Galveston would eventually fall into his hands like ripe fruit.
But first Sabine Pass would have to be secured.
The First Battle of Sabine Pass (aka the Bombardment
of Fort Sabine) took place between September 24 - 25, 1862.
From the memoirs of Captain Keith, a Sabine Pass cotton mer-
chant, we learn that in June 1862, the last major command
shakeup at Fort Sabine Pass occurred when Major Likens was
promoted and authorized to raise a regiment of Texas cavalry.
Captain Spaight was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the new
Spaight’s Eleventh Battalion. And - Captain Josephus Irvine
was elected Major and executive officer of this newly formed
Battalion. Newton County men with last names such as
Dougharty, DeHart, Ford, Herrin, Lewis, Stark, Whitman, and
Zachary had been recruited by Irvine and were part of the 11th
Battalion. (As readers may recall from past Newton County
News articles, Josephus Somerville Irvine was also a veteran
of the Texas War for Independence and saw action in “Battle
of San Jacinto. And before the community of Newton was se-
lected as the site for the County Government, several County
Commissioners Court meetings were held in his home on
Quicksand Creek.)
In July 1862, the British steamer Victoria entered the
Sabine Pass carrying a load of munitions and the dreaded "yel-
low jack”! Within a month, yellow fever had afflicted almost 300
soldiers and civilians at Sabine Pass. As the victims began to
die, the remainder of Sabine's residents, about 600 persons
fled inland.
Because of the fever, the upper coast of Texas be-
came an inviting target for a Union offensive due to the weak-
ened Confederate defenses. On September 23, 1862, the
Steamer Kensington, Schooner Rachel Seaman, and Mortar
Schooner Henry James under the Union command of Acting
Master Frederick Crocker appeared off the bar at Sabine Pass.
In the early morning hours of September 25, 1861, Crocker
gave the order to cross the bar at Sabine pass and begin fir-
ing on the Irvine's troops at the Confederate shore battery. Ini-
tial firing proved to be useless against the Confederates
because the shells were unable to reach the shore. Quickly re-
alizing the problem, Crocker ordered the ships to continue
moving closer until the shells began to hit the Confederate
Letter
To The
Editor
Hi Friends!
I am on the board of
the “Garth House” child advo-
cacy center, located in Beau-
mont. The Garth House is a
wonderful non-profit organi-
zation that is working locally
to help child abuse victims.
Specifically, the
Garth House offers forensic
interviews for area children
who have been abused or
have witnessed crimes; free
counseling for child abuse
victims and their families; and
prevention/detection educa-
tion programs for the commu-
nity.
As a former prosecu-
tor, I can personally attest to
the importance of this organi-
zation to the entire Southeast
Texas region, including
Jasper and Newton Counties.
Garth House counselors ac-
tually travel to Jasper and
Newton Counties to provide
free counseling to victims so
that they do not have-to drive
to Beaumont or Orange for
counseling. I simply cannot
sing their praises enough!
To benefit the Garth
House, the board is currently
selling raffle tickets for an
awesome 2011 JEEP WRAN-
GLER SPORT. Raffle tickets
are $100 each and the draw-
ing will be November 17 at
the annual “Pour Les Enfants”
fundraiser. You do not have
to be present to win
Please note that
100% of the raffle proceeds
go directly to the Garth
House. For more information
on the Garth House or its
services, feel free to call or
email me, or visit
www.garthhouse.org
If you are interested
in a raffle ticket, please let me
know! I have them with me at
all times and will deliver!
Misti Spacek
Having
Trouble
And Then There Were Three
By J.R. Lindsey
N.H.S. Class of 1959
It started out as a
cool spring morning, but by
noon the sun was up and get-
ting warmer with each hour. I
was waiting to cross at the
southwest end of the runway.
I had flashed the Control
Tower for permission to cross
the active runway.
While waiting for an
answer, 4 older model aircraft
came into the pattern and
began making several passes
over the airfield. All 4 were
British "Gnats", a smaller
training jet aircraft that had
been in service for several
years, a tandem trainer used
for early flight training in the
British Air Force.
As I watched the for-
mation pass overhead sev-
eral times, each following the
other, it reminded me of cats
trying to catch each other's
tails. The warming sky had
given way to large, white
clouds. Such a typical day in
England.
As the 4 plane forma-
tion came round again, I
could see the pilots as they
passed by a few hundred feet
above me. As they made a
turn at the end of the field,
they began a pass closer in to
the airfield. Just a few hun-
dred yards from where I sat.
Just as they passed the con-
trol tower, I noticed what ap-
peared to be, pieces of the
last airplane falling off. It
seemed to happen in slow
motion.
Just about this time I
began to see the aircraft start
a starboard roll. I thought to
myself, he's a bit low to be
doing that. I saw the canopy
blow off, then an ejection seat
came out with the pilot at-
tached. Immediately the air-
craft took a sharp dive toward
the ground. A few seconds
later the aircraft impacted the
ground about fifty yards from
the active runway, right in
front of me.
It all happened so
quickly, I had to remind myself
that I was actually seeing an
accident unfold right before
my eyes. It all happened so
quickly, I had to remind myself
that I was actually seeing an
accident unfold right before
my eyes. I was thankful the
pilot had gotten out alive.
When they reached the pilot
inside the maintenance
shack, he informed them
there was a missing crew
member. He was no where
to be found. The crash site
was contained within a few
hours and crash investiga-
tors arrived on scene. The
pilot who ejected wasn't in-
jured, just bruised up a bit.
Still no other person was
found. It would be the next
day or so, when they
started to remove parts of
the crashed aircraft, that
they would finally find the re-
mains of the second crew
member. He was still on
board and had never
ejected.
Accidents happen
when you are engaged in
flight operations. It was part
of everyday life to many of
us. I can't say you could
ever get use to seeing them,
it is just a part of life you
have to accept and move
on.
Years later, after my
retirement, I would run into a
load crew member who was
actually inside the flight
shack when the pilot
crashed through the roof.
Each of us was still moved
by the experience.
Somethings never
forgotten.
42 Years Ago on Wednesday July 20
Man First Walked on the Moon
Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, & Michael Collins
:"TESTTOU‘KlTOWD=D'GE'OFTHE"’
SPACE PROGRAM!
guns.
On the Confederate side, only sixteen Confederates had re-
covered enough from their yellow fever illnesses to man the
guns. However, their return fire from their old smoothbore guns
fell short. The Confederates could only mount the parapets and
curse the intruders who remained at a safe distance out of
range! Major Irvine received orders to spike and bury the guns
and then retreat inland. After nightfall the Confederates evac-
uated, taking as much property as possible with them on the
last train to leave Sabine Pass during the Civil War.
On September 26th , the town of Sabine Pass surren-
dered. During the next two months, Union ships occupied
Sabine Lake and Pass, where they destroyed the railroad
bridge over Taylor's Bayou, and they burned the depot, round-
house, sawmills, and other principal buildings in Sabine Pass.
Crocker left the steamboats, Rachel Seaman and Dan, to
guard Sabine Pass and harass the soldiers and civilians and
on one occasion, the Dan shelled the soldiers of Spaight’s Bat-
talion camped at Taylor’s Bayou.
(Josephus S. Irvine and many of his CSA soldiers are buried in
Newton County, Texas.)
There will be a full scale military encampment as
well as a re-enactment of Battle of Sabine Pass
on Sept. 9-11 at the Sabine Pass Battleground
State Historic Site. For more information contact
NCHC at 409-379-2409.
ANSWERS TO SPACE QUIZ
1. Alan Shepherd, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Deke Slayton,
Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gus Grissom
2. Alan Shepherd
3. Yuri Gargarin
4. John F. Kennedy
5. John Glenn
6. John Glenn
7. Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Space Shuttle
8. National Aeronotical & Space Administration
9. Neil Armstrong
10. Buzz Aldrin
11. 12
12. John F. Kennedy
13. Most, if not all, were test pilots
14. Gus Grissom, unfortunately he was killed during a training
exercise for Apollo 1 along with Ed White and Roger Chaffee.
15. see #14
16. “Houston, the Eagle has landed.”
17. Lunar Excursion Module
18. Apollo 13
19. Space Shuttle
20. Wally Schirra
21. Christa McAuliff who was a teacher
With
AT&T?
This is for all AT&T
Wireless phone owners in the
Newton area. Once again for
the past several weeks the
AT&T tower has not been
working like it should and the
following is what everyone
who has AT&T should do.
Call 1-866-700-2105 and this
will take you straight to tech-
nical support. There will be
some identifying questions for
security purposes. You can
also inform them the tower is
located at 220 Perego Lane in
Newton and the FCC Tower
registration number is
1218021.
Maybe with everyone
calling in something will get
done quicker.
Bradley Smith
F* in Memory ^
OfAtt
Of Those (Brave
Men
Jln(f Women
Who gave Their
Lives In The
Quest
Tor ‘KinowCecfge
Jl6out Our Vni-
verse Jln(f The
WorC<f JlrounL
Vs.
i1. Name the 7 Mercury Astronauts?
\l. Which of the 7 was first in space?
[3. What was the name of the first man in space?
J4. Which American President’s children were given a puppy out of one of
ithe dogs sent into space by the U.S.S.R.? Hint: Khrushchev presented
ithe prize?
|5. Who was the first American to orbit the Earth?
J6. What U.S. Senator flew in the Mercury program and again at the age
jof 77?
i7. What were the names of the 4 programs of manned space flight that
ihave been accomplished by the United States?
|8. What entity to the initials N.A.S.A. stand for?
j9. Who was the first man to set foot on the moon?
[10. Who was the second man to set foot on the moon?
■11. How many people have walked on the moon?
il2. Which President made the moon landing a priority in a speech?
|13. What was the occupation of the 7 Mercury astronaunts?
■14. Who was the second man into space during the Mercury program
•that was also supposed to be the first person to set foot on the moon?
iwhy didn’t he?
il5. Who were the first United States’ astronauts killed in the N.A.S.A
[space program?
[16. What were the first words uttered from the moon?
i17. What was the L.E.M.?
!l8. Which Apollo mission went terribly wrong and had to cancel lunai
[landing?
[19. In which phase of the U.S. space program have the highest number
jof flight personnel been killed?
i20. Who was the astronaut who flew in all 3 of the first space programs?
[21. Name the first “civilian” to fly in space and their occupation.
SEE ANSWERS BELOW AND TO THE LEFT
r
MEMBER
2011
TJi
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
The Newton County News
is published weekly on Wednesdays by Jay & Shawn Wilk-
erson at 112 Glover Drive in Newton, Texas 75966. Sub-
scription rates are $29 annually. Periodicial postal paid at
Newton, Texas. Postmaster. Send address changes to:
Newton County News, P.O. Box 65 Newton, TX. 75966.
Phone and Fax number is 379-2416.
E-mail Address is newtonnews(5)valornet.com
Co-Publishers..........Jay & Shawn Wilkerson
Editor..........Anne Roush-Dussetschleger
Office Manager..........Karyn Lobb
Creative Director..........Shawn Wilkerson
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Roush-Dussetschleger, Anne. Newton County News (Newton, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 53, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 20, 2011, newspaper, July 20, 2011; Newton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth635109/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Newton County Historical Commission.