The Press., 1899-10-05
BATTLE OF FORT BOWLING.
A Remarkable Engagement of Which
Little Has Been Written.

Little Has Been Written.
Where the gulf Of Mexico comes into
the Sabine lake, on the coast of Texas,
near the Louisiana line, there is mar
row channel of water which is about
400 yards wide. On the north bank of
this little channel today one sees the
smokestack a few feet above the wa
ter Of a sunken boat. Just opposite
to it, on the southern bank, there is q
dirt wall, square in it's shape and
about ten. feet high and over this
painted sign that reads Fort DoWl-
ing" That is all that now lives as
evidence of a thrilling drama, the
equal of which the world has never
seen, and that was played out at this
place back yonder in the closing days
Of our civil war. ~
= General Banks, with plenty of men
and boats and plenty of ammunition
and supplies, had gone up the Red riv-
er into Louisiana and was hammering
Kirby Smith and Dick Taylor into
destruction. The Federal government
conceived the idea that Smith and Tay
lor might be attacked in the rear by
an expedition landed on the shores of
Sabine lake and consisting of some
10000 men, who would be transported
to their landing by part of the Fed
eral fleet.
To reach the banks of the lake, of
course. it was necessary to go through
Sabine pass, this narrow channel of
which | have spoken. Richard Dowl-
ing, in command Of about 40 men, was
acting as a scout for Smith and Tay-
lor and saw the evidence of the COM
ing of this feet Of gunboats and trans
ports and, with his 40 men, took pos
session of a little mud fort at the
mouth of the pass, in which there were
three or four Founders and perhaps
a siege gun. There he waited with
guns loaded and instructions given to
his men that they must not fire until
the gunboats came well abreast Of
him, only about 300 yards away.
His plan Of action was not to shoot
until they were Immediately opposite,
and then to discharge his whole bat
terry at the gunboat. This was done
successfully; her boilers were explod-
ed, and, together with hundreds of
soldiers, she sank to the spot where
she now rests. Many died from the
steam that scalded them, more from
the water that engulfed them.
Loading his guns, he sank the next
vessel with the same disastrous result
to the enemy and, loading yet again,
he turned his guns on the transport
following, with thousand men aboard
of her. She, in response, ran up white
flag. The rest of the fleet turned and
sailed away. leaving the dead bodies
Of the drowned soldiers and the sunk
en- vessels Bowling, in dugout (this
Is a followed log or a canoe, as it is
variously called, padded himself out
to receive the surrender of this trans
port with thousand men. The com
mander of the vessel expressed his
surprise at such a reception of his
white flag token and asked why the
commander of the fort didn't come in
person to receive his surrender.
Bowling replied, 81 am the COM
mander and have come IN person." to
which the captain said, "Well, what
do you mean by coming this way in a
canoe by yourselfY'
Bowling answered, Il have no other
way Of getting here, and hence I came
in my dugout."
He received the surrender, parolcd
the prisoners, for he could not take
them in charge, and went back to his
comrades. OF these 40, only one had
received a wound at all, though the
gunboats had shelled the little mud
earthwork diligently.
In the history of the world nothing
similar, unless it be the battle of New
Orleans, has ever happened, and yet,
such is the large carelessness Of the
southern character in recording its
wonderful and numerous deeds of
heroism, that but little notice has ever
been taken of this extraordinary bat
tlc.-Nashville Democracy.