The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1892-10-06
CAPTURE OF THE CLIFTON.
An Account of the Battle of Sabine Pass by
q Participant,

All ACCOUNT Oh Inc baltte Oh Sabine faSH Dy
Participant.
WOULD like to give my recollection of
the battle Of Sabine Pass, Tex, in which
Il the q. S. s. Clifton was destroyed and
the crew and one company of 18th n. Y.
taken prisoners. / would also like TO correct q
mistake about the number Of the Confederate
forces that were in and around Sabine Pass
and Beaumont. The Acknowledgment said there
was only 49 men on the Confederate side, and
that they were out OF ammunition. That
paper can tell this tale to the Marines. The
men who manned the fort were called the
Davies Guards, an artillery organization re-.
cruited in Houston. Tex, and were always nm.
derst0od by me TO number Ito officers and men.
Capt. Davies was the commander. but some
how he never showed up when there was any
fighting on hand. On those interesting occa-
sions he delegated his power to Lieut.. Richard
Downing because Dick, / suppose, could
he could; and if Dick was killed, what matter.
1t was like the other Irishman that was going
to be hung-he was used to it.
About the ammunition giving out just as
the Clifton surrendered. and about there being
no one in the fort but 40 men, let US go down
and see how this was, and give you some facts.
We had deserter from the rebel army on
board; he was second-class fireman and his
name was Joe Bowers. When he saw the
white flag was going to be hoisted, he made a
break for life and liberty. He jumped in to
swim to the Arizona, as she was the nearest
ship in the ofing. When the rebels saw him
they called out to him to come back, and q
company of infantry that lay concealed came
out and fired at him, but tho tide was going
out and soon took him out of musket range.
Then the eight Sinch Columbiads that the fort
was armed with fired at least two rounds per
gun at him. Whether Joa ever reached liberty
or was shot don't know.
The rebel steamer Roebuck came up ut this
time, and we were ordered aboard by the Cap.
tain Of this infantry company that did the
shooting at Joe Bowers, and this company
guarded US to Beaumont; so there were 149
men who were at Sabine Pass on the Confeder-
ate side that we know of. When we prisoners
arrived at Beaumont we were put on train
and sent to Houston, where we arrived that
night. Next morning the daily paper came
out-the Telegram or Telegraph. l forget which
name il was-that gave an account of the fight
at Sabine Pass.
After giving puff to the Davies Guards and
Lieut.. Dick Bowling, the article in the news
paper went on to say: After the destruction
of his gunboat, Gen. Franklin put his tail be-.
tween his legs and went in dogs trot back
to New Orleans like the whipped cur that he
was. But it is to be regretted that he did not
land his blue coated invaders ON Texas soil, for
they had warm reception for him. The COM
mittee which was appointed to receive him was
Gen. Sterling Price. Gen. Tom Green Gen.
Dick Taylor, a detachment from Gen. Kirby
Smith at Shreveport, ard two brigades from
Gen. Griiin's army; ali these were to be under
the command of our Ceur de Leon-Gen. Ma.
gruder."
Now listen to this. According to their own
account they could have had no less than 80 900
men, the whole Confederate army of tho Trans.
mississippi, to oppose Gen. Franklin If he had
to land on Texas soil. / distinctly remember
hearing the Confederates say We can support
the sky with bayonets sah! And now all
this grand army is cut down to 40 men. They
might have made it so men just for even num-
bers. But l suppose the ex-Confederates would
not tell lie for one man.
AS to the Clifton, she was double-ender;
that is, she had rudder fore and aft, and she
could back Or go ahead without having to make
a circuit. All told, her crew numbered 175
men; but at the battle of Sabine Pass we had
q company of Sharpshooters from the 18th
N. Y. She had 10 guns-eight 6Spounders
broadside guns; one 50-pounder PARROT rife
and one 9.inch Dahlgren smoothbore. The