The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1899-09-21
THE BATTLE OF FORT BOWLING.
A Remarkable Achievement of Which
Little Has Been Written,

into the Sabine lake, on the coast OF
Texas, near the Louisiana line there
is a narrow channel of water which
is about 400 yards wide. Ga the
north bank Of this little channel to-.
day one sees the smoke stack, few
feet above the water, of a sunken
boat. just opposite to it, on the
southern bank, there is a dirt wall,
square in it's shape, and about ten
feet high, and over this a painted
sign that reads Fort Downing"
That is all that now lives as evidence
of thrilling drama, the equal of
which the world has never seen, and
that was played out at this place in
the closing days of our civil war.
General Banks, with plenty of
men and boats and plenty of ammu
milton and supplies had gone up the
Red river into louisiana and was
hammering Kirby Smith and Dick
Taylor into distraction The feder-
al government conceived the idea that
Smith and Taylor might be attacked
10 the rear by al expedition landed
on the shores of Sabine lake, and
consisting of some ten thousand
men, who would be transported to
their landing by part of their federal
feet. To reach the banks of the
lake, of course, it was necessary to
go through Sabine pass-tbis mar
row channel of which have spoken.
Richard Bowling, il command of
about forty men, was acting as a
scout for Smith aud Tayl and saw
the evidence Of the coming of this
feet Of gunboats and transports, and
with his forty mep, took possession
of little mud fort at the mouth OF
the pass, in which there was three
or four six Founders and perhaps a
siege gun. There he waited with |
gus loaded and instructions were
given to his men that they must not
fire until the gunboets came well |
abreast of him only about 800 yards
away His plan Of action was not
to shoot until they were immediate
~ opposite, and then to discharge
his whole battery at the gunboat
This was done successfully; her boil
ers were exploded, and together With
hun dreds of soldiers, she sank to the
spot where she now rests. Many
died from the steam that scalded
them, more from the water that en-
quilted them.
Loading his guns he sank the
next vessel with the same disastrous
result to the enemy, and. loading
pet again, he turned his guns on the
following, with thousand
men aboard of her. She in response
an up white flag. The rest of the
leet turned and sailed away, leaving
he dead bodies of the drowned
oldiers and the sunken vessels.
Bowling, in a dugeut, (this is a
followed log or a canoe, as it is
ariously called, padded himself
ut to receive the surrender of this
transport with a Thousand meu.
The commander of the vessel ex-
ressed his surprise at such a rscep-
ion of his white flag token. and ask,
d why the com mander Of the fort
idu't come in person to receive his
Dowling replied 4 am
he commander and have come in
erson, to which the captain said:
Well, what do you mean by coming
MS way, in a canoe by YOURSELF
Bowling answered: II have no
Their way OF getting here aud
ence l came IN my dugout. He
sceived the surrender, parolled the
risoners. for he could not take them l
/ charge, and went back to his I
omrades Of these forty. only Que
ad received a wound at all, though I
lie gunboat had shelled the little I
lui earth work diligently
la the history of the world moth
lg similar, unless it be the battle 7
New Orleans, has ever happened,
nd yet, such is the large careless. n
ess of the southern character in re-
0rdi0g its wonderful and numerous