Battle on the Bay: The Civil War Struggle for Galveston / Edition 1

by Edward T. Cotham Jr.

Overview

The Civil War history of Galveston is one of the last untold stories from America's bloodiest war, despite the fact that Galveston was a focal point of hostilities throughout the conflict. As other Southern ports fell to the Union, Galveston emerged as one of the Confederacy's only lifelines to the outside world. When the war ended in 1865, Galveston was the only major port still in Confederate hands.

In this beautifully written narrative history, Ed Cotham draws upon years of archival and on-site research, as well as rare historical photographs, drawings, and maps, to chronicle the Civil War years in Galveston. His story encompasses all the military engagements that took place in the city and on Galveston Bay, including the dramatic Battle of Galveston, in which Confederate forces retook the city on New Year's Day, 1863.

Cotham sets the events in Galveston within the overall conduct of the war, revealing how the city's loss was a great strategic impediment to the North. Through his pages pass major figures of the era, as well as ordinary soldiers, sailors, and citizens of Galveston, whose courage in the face of privation and danger adds an inspiring dimension to the story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780292712058
Publisher:	University of Texas Press
Publication date:	03/01/1998
Series:	Texas Classics
Pages:	253
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.58(d)

About the Author

An independent scholar of Civil War history and former president of the Houston Civil War Roundtable, Ed Cotham is also active in the movement to preserve Civil War sites. He lives in Houston.

Table of Contents

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. The War Is Postponed
• 2. A Safe Condition
• 3. Warming Up for War
• 4. The Island City Chooses Sides
• 5. City in the Sea
• 6. The Blockade Begins
• 7. A Pessimistic Assessment
• 8. Thomas Chubb and the Royal Yacht
• 9. The Threat of Bombardment
• 10. Captured by Ferryboats
• 11. The Infantry Arrives
• 12. The Prince and His Players
• 13. From Glorieta to Galveston
• 14. Prince John Plans His Next Production
• 15. The Battle of Kuhn's Wharf
• 16. Cottonclad Victory
• 17. After the Battle
• 18. A Trap Fails to Close
• 19. Still Another Disaster off Galveston
• 20. An Entrenched Camp
• 21. Treated like a Conquered City
• 22. Running the Blockade
• 23. The "Closing Act of the Rebellion"
• Epilogue
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index

What People are Saying About This

Donald S. Frazier

Devotees of American Civil War literature should find their horizons broadened and their understanding of the war enhanced by this book.
— Donald S. Frazier, author of Cottonclads! The Battle of Galveston and the Defense of the Texas Coast

Editorial Reviews

Battle on the Bay is a delightful and entertaining book that will appeal to professional historians and general readers alike....Cotham is to be commended for writing an entertaining, superbly researched, and compellingly written book.

Civil War Book Review

Battle on the Bay is a delightful and entertaining book that will appeal to professional historians and general readers alike....Cotham is to be commended for writing an entertaining, superbly researched, and compellingly written book.

Civil War Book Review - Andrew Duppstadt