The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-20

A Remarkable Achievement OF the OWL
War of Which Little Has Boon Wilton.

A Remarkable Achievement OF the OWL
War of which Little Has Boon Wilton.
FROM Democracy. If Nashville. Tenn.
Where the Gulf of Mexico comes into tho
Sabine Lake, on the coast Of Texas. near
the Louisiana line, there is q narrow chan
mel Of water which is about four hundred
yards wide. On the north bank Of this
little channel to-day one sets the smoke
stack, q few feet above the water, Of
sunken boat. Just opposite to It. on the
southern bank, there Is q dirt wall, square
in its shape, and about ten feet high. and
over this a painted sign that reads Fort
Bowling" That is all that now lives az
evidence of 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.
Gen. Banks, with plenty Of men and
boats and plenty Of ammunition and sup
plies, had gone up the Red River into
Louisiana and was hammering Kirby Smith
and Dick Taylor into destruction. The
federal government conceived the idea that
Smith and Taylor might be attacked in the
rear by an expedition landed on the shores
Of Sabine Lake. and consisting Of some ten
Thousand men, who would be transported
10 tueH ldnuiuB Oh Tue IeueTht
feet. To reach the banks Of the lake. Of
course. 1t was necessary to go through Sa-
bine Pass-this narrow channel Of which I
have spoken. Richard Bowling. In command
Of about forty men. was acting as q scout
for Smith and Taylor. and saw the evidence
Of the comSAg Of this feet of gunboats and
transports, and, with his forty men, took
possession OF little mud fort at the mouth
Of the pass In which there were three or
four six-pounders and perhaps q siege gun.
Thara ha wa tad utt And To
structions given to his men that they must
not fire until the gunboats came we'll
abreast OF him. only about 400 yards away.
His plan OF action was not to shoot until
to discharge his whole battery at the gum
boat This was done successfully; her
boilers were exploded 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 enc
my, and. loading yet again. he turned his
guns on the transport following. with a
thousand men aboard of her. She, in re-
Spouse, ran up white flag. The rest of
the fleet turned and sailed away, leaving
the dead bodies OF the drowned soldiers and
the sunken vessels Bowling in a dugout
variously called). padded himself out to
receive the surrender OF this transport with
thousand men. The commander OF the
vessel expressed his surprise at such a
reception OF his white nag token, and asked
why the commander of the fort didn't come
In person to receive his surrender. BOWL
Ing replied II am the commander and have
come In person." to which the Captain said:
We'll, what do you mean by coming this
way. In canoe by yourself?" Bowling
answered: II have no ether way of getting
here. and hence I came in my dugout."
He received the surrender. paroled the pri-
soners, for he could not take them In
charge. and went back to his comrades
or these forty. only one had received a
wound at all, though the sunboats had
shelled the little mud earthwork diligently.
In the history of the world nothing SINH
lar, unless II be the battle Of New Or
leans, has ever happened. and yet, such ia
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 extra
ordinary hattlA