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THE MATAGORDA INCIDENT
I. CONTEXT The Matagorda Incident may not be as well-known as larger events of the Civil War, but it is just as memorable to the families and friends of the young men who gave their lives for the cause in which they believed. The horrors of war were brought to the front doors of the residents of Matagorda, Texas, when twenty-two men perished in the midst of an expedition against Federal troops. They perished not as the result of hostilities but as the result of severe weather.
Approximately ninety men from the Matagorda County area joined Company D, 6th Texas Infantry and fought in Arkansas, Virginia and Georgia.1 The younger and older men were left as the home guard in Matagorda. The defense of the town would have been impossible without Captain Rugeley’s company being stationed there.
II. OVERVIEW The Federals, in an effort to destroy trade from Texas to Europe through Brownsville and Matamoros and to stop blockade runners from bringing supplies to Confederate troops, took possession of the most important ports along the Texas coast. By the middle of November 1863, Federal troops occupied nearly a third of the Texas coastline and were heading for the main port of Galveston. Any loss of ports on the Texas coast to the Federals would allow their invasion forces heading inland to be supplied by the United States Navy.
Separating Matagorda Bay from the Gulf of Mexico was a thin strip of land known as the Matagorda Peninsula. The area around Pass Cavallo, the entrance into Matagorda Bay, was occupied by Federal forces on November 30, 1863.
The shallow waters inside the bay prevented the larger Federal warships from entering the bay, but also limited the Confederates to using shallow draft small gunboats inside the bay. The Union warships could remain in the Gulf of Mexico and fire their guns over the peninsula into the bay at the smaller Confederate vessels. Both sides were trying to build up their defenses in and around Matagorda Bay.
Captain Edward S. Rugeley (1822 - 1897) and his Company D of Brown’s Regiment, Texas Cavalry were stationed to protect the town of Matagorda and the surrounding area. The company had just been formed from other units on October 1863. Many of the men were from Navarro and Colorado counties.6 Captain Rugeley and the company had arrived in Matagorda on October 24th. Matagorda’s proximity to the Gulf also necessitated the marine service command of Captain James R. Marmion (1830 - 1895). Anchored in Matagorda Bay were the cotton-clad gunboat, the John F. Carr, armed with two guns, the Lucy Gwinn, used for transportation, and the Lizzie Lake, a stern wheeler. The guns were officered and manned by members of Cook’s regiment of artillery, stationed at Galveston.
During late December 1863, Federal gunboats had been seen plying the waters along Matagorda Peninsula for two or three days looking for a way to outflank Matagorda Bay without losing their lines of supply from the sea.
Captain Marmion was leading the John F. Carr and the Cora on patrol in Matagorda Bay. He learned that the Federals had landed approximately three hundred men on the Matagorda Peninsula and their gunboats remained off the coast supplying cover for their men on shore. The landing party was in the process of throwing up breastworks of log and sand to repel any further Confederate cavalry attacks. Captain Marmion brought the Carr into a position directly opposite the Federal gunboats which were on the gulf side of the peninsula. The landing party was caught in the middle, and Marmion knew that if any of his shells missed the landing party, they had a chance of hitting the Federal gunboats. The Carr was run in as close as possible to the shore, putting it approximately one and one-half miles from the sand fort and about two miles from the enemy gunboats.
Late in the morning of December 30, 1863, firing broke out between the Federal troops and the Confederate cavalry. The Union gunboats began firing in support of their landing party, moving closer to shore as they shelled the cavalry positions. Eventually the firing stopped, and the soldiers went back to constructing their fort. A haze which had been lingering over the area, began to lift, and Captain Marmion had a clear view of the Federal position and opened fire on the Union soldiers, stopping their work again. Then he began firing on the Federal gunboats and they returned fire.
Since the landing party was not making any progress on the fort, one of the Federal gunboats began moving back down the coast to Pass Cavallo to bring up reinforcements. The second gunboat moved out of range of the Carr’s guns.
Captain Marmion also recognized the need to bring up reinforcements. So far he had only halted the landing party from working on their fort when actively firing. When shelling stopped, work resumed. He also knew the Confederate cavalry presently on the Peninsula was not sufficient to attack the Federal infantry on their own. When Captain Marmion saw the Federal gunboat sail back down the coast he correctly assumed that she was going for reinforcements. On the afternoon of December 30th, Captain Rugeley received a communication from Captain Marmion, of the gunboat John F. Carr, through Captain Crofts, of the Cora, that if he should hear firing from the Carr, which was then lying from 1000 to 1200 yards in the bay from the Peninsula, and almost opposite the town of Matagorda, to come over with or send a detachment of thirty men. Not long after receiving this request, Rugeley heard firing and immediately called for volunteers from his company to go with him to the Carr. According to one account, Rugeley asked for volunteers, telling them he would go with them as commander, but he could not order them to help in the defense of the Peninsula. All present wanted to go and were disappointed that only the best armed would be chosen from the volunteers. Nevertheless, five more men than originally chosen succeeded in getting on board the Cora, which was to carry Rugeley and his men across the bay to the Carr.
Rugeley and his men, consisting of one lieutenant, four non-commissioned officers, thirty-five privates, and three volunteers from the town of Matagorda, reached the Carr about sunset.
Captain Marmion informed Rugeley that the enemy, from forty to fifty strong, had been building breastworks during the evening until the shots from his gun caused them to stop. Captains Rugeley, Marmion and Green Hall (ca 1834 - 1890) of the Carr met and all agreed that the Federals on the peninsula vastly outnumbered the Confederates and would be even stronger the next day after reinforcements arrived. The officers agreed to make a night attack on the enemy’s encampment. A force, consisting of fifty-seven, including fifteen from the gunboat, would land on the peninsula, reconnoiter the enemy’s position, ascertain their number, and, if deemed prudent attack.
In the meantime, a scout was sent ashore to determine how close small boats could approach the Peninsula without having to wade. He returned around nine p.m. and stated that there was from twelve to eighteen inches of water to within two hundred yards of the shore. The launches were readied and preparations made to go ashore. About nine o’clock two trusted men were selected to go on shore to determine the strength of the enemy’s forces. They soon returned and reported the enemy’s number about sixty and the attack was to be made; all were anxious to go.
The launches were ordered ready and preparations made to go ashore. Fifty-seven men left the Carr. Thirty-six went on board the largest launch and thirteen men on the next largest launch. Both of these boats were manned by good oarsmen. The third, a skiff, was occupied by Captains Marmion, Hall, Rugeley, and five others.
The three boats left the Carr, which was riding at anchor in about four feet of water, and about 1000 to 1200 yards from the Peninsula, between 9:30 and 10 p.m. The day had been warm and beautiful; many of the brave men were in their shirt sleeves. After rowing half way to the shore, a terrific norther blew up, and Rugeley suggested a return to the Carr, which was sanctioned by the other officers in the boat; therefore, the launches were ordered back, none supposing for a moment that the small boats could not be rowed back safely in a few minutes, as the distance was only about five to six hundred yards. Rugeley’s sole purpose in ordering the return was the welfare of the men. If they had reached the peninsula with a cold and heavy norther blowing, and found the enemy stronger than anticipated, and unable to return to the gunship by the small boats, the men would have been compelled either to fight or pass the enemy lines, unobserved, and march twenty-four miles to the head of the peninsula where Confederate forces were stationed. This would have caused great suffering by the men, as the night proved to be one of the coldest ever known in South Texas.
Captain Rugeley gave the command to return to the gunboats; however, the small boats were soon separated. The fury of the storm was churning the waters of the bay and it was freezing cold. The skiff, with Rugeley and seven others aboard, after hard work, reached the gunboats while the others continued on, it is believed towards the peninsula.
The other two boats were not so lucky. The largest launch was within 150 feet of the steamer Cora, when one of the oars broke, and, as the boat was tossed around in the rough water, each wave helped to fill the boat. In those few moments occurred scenes never to be forgotten. William Selkirk (1845-1915) recalls how one of the two brothers who remained in the boat helped him pull off his boots, then he took off his coat and jumped overboard to get away from the sinking launch. He swam what seemed like a mile to shore, where he met a fellow soldier. They went ten miles down the beach, running all the way to keep warm, to a house. Some seven or eight others arrived there after Selkirk.
All those who left the launch immediately after being swamped were saved. Others clung to the launch until they either drowned or upon reaching the shore were so numb from being cold and wet that they could not walk and there froze to death. All in the second boat were saved, as she filled in shallow water.
While attempting to reach the gunboats, several of Rugeley’s men discharged their guns, and immediately rockets were fired from the gunboats, and Rugeley believed this is when the enemy left their entrenchments. Many of the enemy had already returned to their ship when the storm came up. The night being bitter cold and the wind blowing fiercely, no aid from either the Carr or the Cora could be rendered. It was hoped that all men were able to leave their boats and go to one of the homes on the Peninsula. However, the following morning proved otherwise.28 Of the thirty-six men in the launch twenty-two lost their lives, including Captain Rugeley’s brother.
When daylight showed the frozen beach and the icicles that hung from the salt cedars, the survivors loaded the bodies of the men that could be found on the gunboat and fought their way back across the bay in the very face of the norther.
It was several days, however, before the last body, Henry Gibson, was found.Heartbreaking was the sight of the bodies of the McKinley brothers, Daniel and Thomas, locked in each other’s arms.
That night the bodies were “laid out” in the parlor of the Colorado House, a hotel in Matagorda. Travel was almost impossible due to the weather, so no messengers were sent to the plantations that night. The hotel was crowded for the New Year’s Eve Ball that was never held. The men “sit up” with the bodies and the ladies helped in the kitchen. The next morning riders set out to take the news to the plantations. Every home was in mourning and was offering hospitality to other mourners from the outlying districts.
Over a three-day period, funeral services were held by Christ Church of Matagorda for many of the men. Most of the men were buried in one area of Matagorda Cemetery. Captain Rugeley wrote in his report: “Fifteen minutes longer and the whole party would have landed, and I believe we could have taken the enemy, as they numbered but few, if any, more than we did. . . .Never did an undertaking at its commencement appear more auspicious or one which ended more disastrously.”
The storm which sprang up on the night of December 30th continued to roar for a number of days. Federal reinforcements from Pass Cavallo finally arrived early December 31st; however, due to the weather, troops could not land. The order was eventually given to evacuate all Federal troops and return to Pass Cavallo. Despite the weather, the evacuation was successful; leaving the Confederates to control the Matagorda Peninsula.
This winter was remarkably severe, the cold weather continuing nearly the entire month of January, and will be remembered as being fraught with the most fatal consequences to the Confederate troops in Matagorda Bay.
An Ohio newspaper reported “The Texas papers have long accounts of fighting with our troops on the Peninsula, opposite Matagorda. In an attempt to land a force from the rebel gunboat J. F. Carr to attack the Union troops who had thrown up fortifications on the Peninsula, one of the rebel launches was overturned in a gale, and twenty-two men drowned.”
One of the Federal units stationed on Matagorda Peninsula was part of the 16th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The drummer, Thomas Buchanan Linn (1842-1921), included the following entries in his diary: Wednesday, Dec. 30. 1863 - Rained some this forenoon. Battalion drill this afternoon. Wind raises tonight and is blowing a Nor'Wester; Thursday, Dec. 31, 1863 - Very cold and wind blowing from the North West all day. Pickets expected to be attacked last night.38 The expected attack was halted by the fatal norther.
List of men lost between December 30 and 31, 186339 [Official date of death December 31, 186340]
Name, Rank & Approximate Age Birthplace or Residence & Occupation Jesse Mathews, First Sergeant, age 23 London, Virginia, merchant John H. Jones, Jr., Second Sergeant, age 29 Mobile, Alabama, planter Daniel A. McKinley, Corporal, age 22 Cabarrus, North Carolina, farmer Alfred D. Hines, Private, Bugler, age 23 Washington, Texas, stock raiser George M. Bowie, Private, age 18 Dallas, Alabama, planter William G. Copeland, Private, age 19 Pike, Alabama, stock raiser Julius M. Conner, Private, age 22 Madisonville, Tennessee, farmer Joyce U. Howell, Private, age 18 Dallas, Alabama, farmer William M. Meneley, Private, age 33 Illinois, overseer Andrew J. May, Private, age 32 Arkansas, overseer James B. Seaborn, Private, age 18 Greenville, Virginia, stock raiser Benjamin H. Walton, Private, age 21 Missouri, clerk Thomas M. McKinley, Private, age 18 Tennessee, farmer Thomas M. Wadsworth, Private, age 18 Matagorda, Texas, clerk Fielding C. Secrest, Private, age 25 Colorado County, Texas, merchant Jacob G. Secrest, Private, age 20 Ft. Bend County, Texas, stock raiser Henry Gibson, Private, age 19 Matagorda, Texas, student Augustus C. Johnson, Private, age 18 Carroll, Louisiana, student Julius Shaw, from Gunboat John F. Carr James A. Rugeley, Volunteer, age 17 Matagorda, Texas, student Edwin B, Lake, Volunteer, age 18 Alabama, clerk 7 James A. Duggan, Volunteer, age 35 Merchant
III. SIGNIFICANCE
Matagorda was far removed from most of the more significant battles of the Civil War, but its location brought the war to its doorstep. Hardly a family in Matagorda was unaffected by the incident that claimed twenty-two men and volunteers in Captain Rugeley’s company. The loss of family members and friends reached beyond Matagorda to several other counties. The New Year’s Eve Ball planned for December 31, 1863, was cancelled, and it would be almost twenty years before New Year’s Eve would once again be a time of celebration in Matagorda. All of the men were of marriageable age, and several young women in Matagorda who lost their sweethearts that fateful night never married.
The defense of Matagorda Peninsula and Pass Cavallo continued to be
significant until the end of the war. Federal patrols continued to
blockade Pass Cavallo to keep necessary supplies from reaching
Matagorda and thus mainland Texas while preventing cotton and other
exports from leaving Matagorda for foreign markets. The men in
Captain Rugeley’s company sought to protect their homeland, and for
some, the price was their lives. |
