Ron Stone, The Book of Texas Days (Fredericksburg, TX: Shearer Publishing, 1985), 152.
Ron Stone’s book, The Book of Texas Days, presents at least one event, anecdote, or item of information for each day of the year, covering the full 150-plus-year range of Texas history. For the entry under September 7, Stone recalls the “most spectacular Civil War battle in Texas,” the Battle of Sabine Pass, and the battle’s hero, Dick Dowling. Stone mentions Dowling as an Irish Houstonian. Furthermore, Stone states that Dowling disobeyed Magruder’s orders to abandon the fort and spike the guns, instead, “Dowling and his men strengthened the fort and engaged in target practice out in the river”. Stone then recalls the Battle of Sabine Pass in a short paragraph, mentioning the large invading Union force opposing Dowling. Stone concludes this entry by championing Dowling and his men for keeping Texas safe from Union invasion for the rest of the Civil War. There is an additional version of this book available in Fondren Library. This edition is available online, on NetLibrary, and was published in 1997 by Eakin Press in Austin, Texas. Regarding the Dowling entry, there are no differences or changes between the two editions; however, there are obvious differences between the introductions. In the 1985 edition, Stone mentions his reasons for writing the book: “This book seeks to do nothing more than extend my love affair with Texas by attempting to show the varied mosaic of the state” and “I can only chronicle it as a journalist would, and lay out what has passed the test of time, and hope that one or two of these 365 or so people and places, events and actions will stir our readers to find excitement where dullness has been, and kindle a new love for Texas”. Furthermore, Stone acknowledges that he has been a journalist for 30 years and his love of Texas history began with a visit to the San Jacinto Battleground in 1962. The 1997 edition, on the other hand, has a much shorter introduction in which Stone thanks his family for their support. From Stone’s 1985 introduction and his informal prose, we can assay Stone’s intended audience. I believe Stone targets a younger audience as Stone utilizes a casual tone in his entries. Furthermore, I believe Stone targets those looking for a general history of Texas as Stone attempts to incorporate all of the important figures and events in Texas history. Thus, I believe The Book of Texas Days is a popular history text. The full transcriptions of the passages related to Dowling and Sabine Pass are as follows:
The hero of the most spectacular Civil War battle in Texas was an Irish barkeep named Dick Dowling, who disobeyed his orders. Dowling ran a Houston saloon called the Bank of Bacchus. He volunteered for the Confederate army and was in charge of a Texas artillery battery. His general, John Magruder, ordered Dowling to spike the guns guarding Sabine Pass. Instead, Dowling and his men strengthened the fort and engaged in target practice out in the river.
In September 1863, twenty ships, carrying 5,000 troops, left New Orleans to invade Texas. On the night of September 7, the fleet arrived off the Sabine bar, and three gunboats, the Clifton, the Arizona, and the Sachem, went in to silence the guns at the fort. The next afternoon, as two of the ships got within firing distance of the fort, Dowling opened fire and hit them both. One went aground, the other surrendered, and the Union ships off the bar turned around and headed back to New Orleans.
There was never another serious attempt to invade Texas by way of Sabine Pass as long as Dick Dowling and his men were waiting.