Sabine Pass

Lincoln vs. Frémont and His “Hasty Emancipation”

As the early days of the American Civil War were unfolding and the destiny of the republic was being contested on the battlefield, President Abraham Lincoln was engaged in a no less perilous type of battle. Read more

Sabine Pass

The Gallant 4th Army Regulars at the Battle of Gettysburg

When the American Civil War erupted in April 1861, the 10 companies of the 4th U.S. Infantry were spread along the West Coast from Puget Sound to the Gulf of California in various small, far-flung garrisons. Read more

Sabine Pass

The Civil War’s Western Territories As Leadership Dumping Grounds

By Mark N. Lardas

Strategically isolated from the South, geographically isolated from the Far West, and separated from the Union plains states by the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), Texas was a backwater whose ultimate fate depended on the success of the Confederacy. Read more

Sabine Pass

Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee and the Battle of the Wilderness

The year 1864 was shaping up to be a critical one in the American Civil War. During the previous year, Federal armies had gained control of the Mississippi River and consolidated their grip on Tennessee. Read more

Sabine Pass

The Disastrous Red River Campaign

By Michael E. Haskew

Nathaniel Banks was a political creature, and with his country in the throes of civil war, he now held the politically obtained rank of major general in the Union Army. Read more

Sabine Pass

Invasion At The Second Battle of Sabine Pass

By Mark N. Lardas

In 1863 the tide was running against the South—except in Texas. A new Confederate commander, John Magruder, chased the Yankees out of both Galveston and the Rio Grande Valley. Read more