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John Henry Brown

John Henry Brown, History of Texas From 1685 to 1892 (St. Louis: L.E. Daniell, 1893), Vol. 2, 422.

John Henry Brown’s 175 word passage about the Battle of Sabine Pass begins with a matter-of-fact style retelling of the events of September 6, 1863. In the latter half of the passage , he qualifies the battle as one of utmost importance to Texas history by arguing that “no achievement was of better service to Texas.” His recounting of the battle involves 42 Confederate soldiers, under the command of Dick Dowling and Patrick Hennessey, 23 Union vessels and “several gunboats.” He describes the events of the battle simplistically, chronicling the Confederate garrison as “skillfully…and bravely” firing upon and capturing two Union gunboats, forcing the retreat of the remaining 23 Union vessels. Later, Brown goes on to explain that there was almost no time for planning or execution; however, he does not mention Dowling’s role in the battle beyond his rank.  Brown makes the bold claim that the brave Confederates managed to stave off the entrance of, what he estimates to be, “23,000 Federal soldiers.” He finishes by claiming that Dowling has come to be saluted as one of the “grandest heroes of modern times.”

In all, Brown’s account of the Battle of Sabine Pass comprises a total of 175 words. Although Brown does relay important information about the battle and makes some bold claims about its significance, it is important to address the terseness of this section. With both volumes of History of Texas From 1685 to 1892 included, Brown’s massive documentation of Texas history is over twelve-hundred pages long. However, for a battle in which “no achievement was of better service to Texas,” and for a military figure who is considered one of the “grandest heroes of modern times,” it seems illogical that the Battle of Sabine Pass and Dowling constitute less than one two-thousandths of Brown’s work. An explanation for this odd occurrence could be that Brown was less interested about the Civil War than he was with earlier or alternative Texas history. Of the three works he lists on the inside jacket cover of this book***, none of them pertain to the Civil War, while two are heavily focuses on interactions with Native Americans. Additionally, it is possible that Brown had an overall negative view of the war and its outcome, in terms of Texas history. His biography states that shortly after the war he and his family, along with other disaffected Southerners, emigrated to Mexico (Texas Historical Association). Although there is no apparent explanation for why his passage on Dowling is so relatively short, it is possible that Brown thought of the Civil War as a blemish for America and Texas.

In addition, Brown does make two rather bold claims about the battle. First, he claims that the Confederate victory was critical for keeping “23,000 Federal soldiers” out of a vulnerable point in Texas. While most sources limit their estimates to the 5,000 Union troops present at the battle of Sabine Pass, Brown quickly jumps to the conclusion that a loss a Sabine Pass would have caused Texas to be overrun by 20,000 plus troops. Secondly, Brown emphasizes the idea that Dowling was saluted as one of the “grandest heroes of modern times,” without qualifying by saying … of the Civil war, or even… of Texas history. It is interesting that Brown regards Dowling as being seen as one of the greatest modern heroes, yet recounts very little about him. It brings up the important question of whether Brown esteemed Dowling as highly as he believed others did.

John Henry Brown, History of Texas From 1685 to 1892 Vol 2, Page 422

“The fort at Sabine Pass had a garrison of about forty men under command of Captain Richard Dowling from Houston and Patrick Hennessey as lieutenant. On the 6th of September, 1863, a Federal fleet of 23 vessels and several gunboats anchored off the coast. A number of vessels with two gunboats entered the harbor and opened fire upon the fort. The garrison withheld their fire until the vessels were in good range of their guns, when they opened upon them. They soon disabled the two gunboats, which they captured with all on board. The other vessels left the harbor. It was a skillfully planned and bravely executed achievement. There was but little time for planning and but a few minutes for executing it, yet no achievement was of better service to Texas. This company of forty-two men defeated the entrance of 23,000 Federal soldiers, through a vulnerable point into Texas. The Federal fleet returned to New Orleans and Texas. From mountain to sea-board saluted Dick Dowling as one of the grandest heroes of modern times.”

 

 

 

2 Responses to “John Henry Brown”

  1. Alex Honold says:

    *** in the front cover of the book he is listed also as the author of…

    Two years in Mexico
    Early in the Life of the Southwest
    The Life and Times of Henry Smith, the First American Governer of Texas”
    The Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas

  2. Dr. McDaniel says:

    If Brown was like the other Southern expatriates who went to Mexico after the Civil War (which you can read about in books like this one), then he believed very strongly in the righteousness of the Confederate cause. That’s also clear from the fact that, according to the biographical entry you cited, Brown was a delegate to the Secession Convention and eventually a major in the Confederate army.

    Brown’s clear Confederate background is probably why, even if he doesn’t spend a lot of time on the battle itself, he still describes it as of “great service to Texas.” As you also point out, he doesn’t qualify his claim about Dowling’s heroism and greatness. His clear pro-Confederate sympathies clearly shaped his perspective on Dowling and the battle. I’d bet that other Texans viewing Dowling from different perspectives wouldn’t even come to these limited conclusions. For example, would an African American Texan writing at the same time be likely to view Dowling’s victory as of “great service to Texas”?

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