The action off Galveston Light was a short
naval battle fought during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
in January 1863.
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
raider
Raider(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Paul Revere & the Raiders, an American rock band
* "Raider", a track from the 1969 album '' Farewell Aldebaran'', by Judy Henske and Jerry Yester
* "Raiders", a track from the 1987 album '' Young a ...
encountered and sank the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
steamer off
Galveston Lighthouse in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
.
Background
USS ''Hatteras'' of was commanded by
Captain Homer C. Blake
Commodore Homer Crane Blake (1 February 1822 – 21 January 1880) was a flag officer of the United States Navy, notable for his gallant but ultimately doomed battle with the in his ship in the action off Galveston Light during the American Civ ...
and was assigned to the
West Gulf Blockading Squadron
The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading.
The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atla ...
off Galveston, Texas. The steamer had a crew of 126 officers and men and was armed with four 32-pounders and one 20-pounder
naval gun
Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and excludes ...
. Captain
Raphael Semmes
Raphael Semmes ( ; September 27, 1809 – August 30, 1877) was an officer in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. Until then, he had been a serving officer in the US Navy from 1826 to 1860.
During the American Civil War, Semmes wa ...
commanded the 1,050-ton
sloop-of-war CSS ''Alabama'' which carried 145 officers and men with six 32-pounders, one 110-pounder and one 68-pounder gun. The encounter between the two vessels was the first combat action of ''Alabama''s distinguished career.
Action
At about 3:00 pm on January 11, 1863, ''Hatteras'' was on blockade duty with and five other vessels
off Galveston when a sail was sighted above the horizon. Captain Blake was then ordered to chase the unidentified ship in ''Hatteras'' and to capture the vessel if it proved to be an enemy. The ship was ''Alabama'' and she could not escape. After pursuing ''Alabama'' until nightfall just over twenty miles of sea from Galveston Harbor to a position off Galveston Light, ''Hatteras'' came alongside of the Confederate ship and demanded that the crew identify themselves. The Confederates called out to try to confuse the
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
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Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
sailors so Captain Blake ordered a boat to be filled with sailors and lowered for a boarding. But just as the launch shoved off the Confederates shouted "''We're the CSS Alabama''", raised their colors, and opened fire with a heavy broadside on the portside of the Union vessel.
The men aboard ''Hatteras'' were surprised but returned fire with their much smaller broadside. For thirteen minutes the two sides dueled in what Captain Semmes later called a "''sharp and exiting''" engagement. In the end, crewmen aboard USS ''Hatteras'' fired a
signal gun to announce their defeat, ''Hatteras'' was slowly sinking and Captain Blake ordered the magazines flooded to prevent an explosion. Men began jumping into the water and boats from ''Alabama'' were lowered to provide assistance. At the same time a boat with six Union sailors escaped along the coast and evaded the Confederates who were maneuvering to rescue survivors. Two United States Navy enlisted men were killed in action, five were wounded and another 118 taken prisoner. CSS ''Alabama'' sustained several shot holes and other damage but Captain Semmes reported that none of it was serious and prevented the vessel from sailing. Two Confederate Navy sailors were wounded.
Aftermath
After sinking the Union steamer the Confederates sailed for the
South Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, they were chased unsuccessfully by some of the Galveston blockaders but no further fighting occurred. Eventually Semmes made his way to
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
where his ship was destroyed by in another significant
battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. discovered the wreck of USS ''Hatteras'' the following morning and found that she was resting on the bottom in nine and a half
fathoms with only her masts sticking out above the waterline. Her colors were not struck in the battle and were still waving in the breeze when ''Brooklyn'' arrived.
See also
*
Bahia Incident
*
Single ship action
*
Sinking of ''Petrel''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galveston Light, Action off Galveston Light
History of Galveston, Texas
Naval battles of the American Civil War
Confederate victories of the American Civil War
Maritime incidents in January 1863
Battles of the American Civil War in Texas