Decisions of the Galveston Campaigns – Foundation Conversations

The Galveston Campaigns were a series of naval and overland battles that pitted Confederate General John B. Magruder and his often-improvised Confederate forces against General Nathaniel P. Banks and a variety of Union army and naval forces. A Federal fleet entered Galveston Bay on October 4, 1862, and the city surrendered after the expiration of a four-day truce. However, on New Year’s Day of 1863, Magruder coordinated a bold new attack to retake Galveston using a land bombardment and two cottonclad Confederate gunboats. Aided by victories at the Battle of Sabine Pass and two purely naval engagements in Texas waters, the city would remain in Southern hands and end the war as the last major Confederate port.

This presentation explores the critical decisions made by Confederate and Federal commanders during the campaigns and examines how these decisions shaped their outcome. Rather than offering a history of the operations, Edward Cotham concentrates on a sequence of decisions made by commanders on both sides of the contest to provide a blueprint of each campaign at its tactical core. Identifying and exploring the critical decisions in this way allows students of the battles to progress from a knowledge of what happened to a mature grasp of why events happened.

You are welcome to bring your own lunch to enjoy. Lunch will not be provided.

Virtual tickets are also available for guests who would like to view the livestream. A link will be sent prior to the event with instructions on viewing. You are welcome to bring your own lunch to enjoy. Lunch will not be provided.

Current GHF member tickets are free for in-person or livestream attendance as part of their #GalvestonHistory+ account. Access will start at 11:15 a.m. on the day of the presentation.

ABOUT EDWARD T. COTHAM JR.

Edward T. Cotham Jr., now retired, was the chief investment officer at the Terry Foundation in Houston. He is the author of Battle on the Bay: The Civil War Struggle for Galveston; Sabine Pass: The Confederacy’s Thermopylae; The Southern Journey of a Civil War Marine; Juneteenth: The Story Behind the Celebration; and A Busy Week in Texas: Ulysses S. Grant’s 1880 Visit to the Lone Star State.