At the beginning of the American Civil War the Federal government imposed a blockade of the southern coast of the Confederate States of America, including the “dark corner of the Confederacy”—Texas. Much of the fighting in Texas during the Civil War took place in the state’s coastal counties and the adjoining Gulf of Mexico waters, and nearly all of these engagements were involved in one way or another with the Union blockade of the Texas coast.
This book examines all major blockade-related land and sea engagements in and near Texas, and also includes many minor ones. It begins with a discussion of the blockade’s creation and then concentrates on the successful Confederate efforts to evade the blockade by shipping cotton out of Mexico and, in return, receiving matériel and civilian goods through that neutral nation. The author also covers political intrigue and the spy activity with the French who had invaded Mexico. The book concludes with an analysis of the effectiveness of the Union blockade of Texas.

Lecturer and author Rodman L. Underwood lives in Port Orange, Florida.

Rodman L. Underwood
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 208
Bibliographic Info: 18 photos, maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008 [2003]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3776-4
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

Some Notes on the Texas Coastline      5

1. Blockade Genesis      11

2. Blockade Growth      39

3. Blockade Running and Blockade Evasion      49

4. Moves and Countermoves      77

5. A Snarl: Cotton, Politics, and Foreign Involvement      103

6. The Rio Grande Expedition      125

7. The Confederacy Collapses      135

8. Blockade Revisited: An Evaluation      147

9. Epilogue      167

Appendix I. Blockade Proclamation      171

Appendix II. Excerpted Report of the Blockade Strategy Board      173

Notes      175

Bibliography      187

Index      193

“excellent…well documented”—The Civil War News.