The Matagorda Incident

In late 1863, during the Civil War, Union forces stormed much of the Texas coast in an effort to block the flow of goods and supplies going through coastal ports. One of the most important port openings was the Matagorda Bay, where the Gulf of Mexico meets the Colorado River. The bay is shielded by a strip of land, the Matagorda Peninsula. In December that year, Union soldiers were reported to have on Matagorda Peninsula supported by Union gunboats. The present Confederate Naval Officer, Capt. James R. Marmion, led gunboats to face the Union ships across the peninsula.

On the morning of December 30, 1863, Confederate cavalry and the Union landing party opened fire. Capt. Marmion’s gunboats helped prevent the Union forces from successfully constructing fortifications. One Union ship left to gather reinforcements, while Capt. Marmion realized that he too needed more men to support the cavalry Capt. Edward S. Rugeley and his Company D of Brown's Regiment, Texas Cavalry, were originally stationed to defend the town of Matagorda, but that afternoon Capt. Marmion called upon them to report to his gunboat to stage an amphibious assault, That night a combined total of 57 men took two boats to the shore of the peninsula as well as a third boat to carry officers. An extremely cold norther forced Capt. Rugeley to call the transports to return to the gunboat, Despite the short distance to retreat, the boats were swamped in the storm and 22 men died. Most Matagorda families were impacted by the deaths. Eventually the Union troops retreated, leaving the Confederate forces in control of the peninsula. (2015)