Texas had been a main source of supplies for Confederate forces during the American Civil War which was not pacified of rebel resistance until long after GeneralRobert E. Lee's surrender in April 1865. Union naval operations to blockade the vast Texas coast began. Despite being in a Confederate state, Corpus Christi was home to both rebel and Union sympathizers. Five Union and four Confederate ships were involved in the naval engagement. The United States Navy vessels were the sloopUSS Belle Italia, the steamer converted to a gunboatUSS Sachem, a barkUSS Arthur, a schooner USS Reindeer and an armed yacht named USS Corypheus. Confederate naval forces included at least two armed vessels, a sloop named CSS Breaker a schooner named CSS Elma, another sloop named CSS Hannah, and a civil steamer, the A.B. or A. Bee.
USS Sachem was origionally commanded by Captain H. W. Morris, the former U.S. Navy commander of New Orleans, and was armed with one 20-pounder parrott rifle and four 32-ponder cannons. The size of her crew was about fifty, she had also participated in several other historic naval engagements such as Hampton Roads and the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip. Captain Morris is not believed to have fought in this battle, apparently he was elsewhere during the time, Lieutenant Amos Johnson commanded Sachem. Lieutenant John W. Kittredge commanded Arthur which held over eighty men and was armed with six 32-pounder smoothbore guns, Kittredge commanded the flotilla. Corypheus held one 30-pounder rifle and one 24-pounder howitzer, she had a crew of twenty-eight men and commanded by Sailing Master A. T. Spear. Bella Italia's armament and crew are not known, Reindeer mustered six 24-pounder howitzers. Little is known of the Confederate ships.
The size of Corpus Christi's garrison included a few militia companies and was reinforced by infantry, cavalry, all together 700 men and another two 12-pound guns and an 18-pound gun. The militia garrison was commanded by Colonel Charles G. Lovenskiold but he handed his command over to MajorAlfred M. Hobby when he arrived with the reinforcements. The garrison was based at the citadel Fort Kinney with it's two 6-pounders.
Battle
Corpus Christi Raid
At noon on August 12, just northwest of Corpus Christi, Belle Italia, Sachem, Reindeer and Corypheus were sailing from Aransas Bay through an artificial canal into Corpus Christi Bay when they sighted CSS Breaker. The Union Navy vessels then gave chase to the sloop filled with sailors and and several Confederate States Army soldiers. After a long pursuit the Union ships closed in on the Confederates and opened fire. The rebel commander chose to ground his sloop and then scuttle it by fire to prevent capture. Confederate sailors did just that so the Union sent a boarding party from Arthur to take the vessel. Union sailors boarded the Breaker and put out the fire, by that time the rebels had escaped on land. Having taken and refloated the prize ship and thus weakening the defenses of Corpus Christi, Union commanders felt it was now time to attack the Confederates defending the town. Knowing that Breaker was gone, Confederates off Corpus Christi in the bay scuttled CSS Elma and the sloop Hannah.
Blockade
After taking the Breaker the Union vessels sailed southwest the short distance to Corpus Christi and established a blockade. Sachem and Corypheus were designated the first to bombard the Confederate fort. Kittredge transferred his flag to Corypheus from Arthur which was sent north to procure supplies. Belle Italia and Reindeer sat out of range as reserves and the captured Breaker was to be used as a hospital ship.
The following morining on August 13, Lieutenant Kittredge and a boarding party were ordered ashore to demand a Confederate surrender of the port town on the Nueces. He was also ordered to allow a fourty-eight hour truce for the evacuation of women and children should the rebels decide to make a stand. As expected the rebels refused to surrender. The Union continued the blockade for the next fourty-eight hours. On the 16 when the truce ended, Kittredge for unknown reasons failed to begin his attack so the Confederates used the time to strengthen their fort.
Battle of Chorpus Christi
When the rebels evacuated their town of civilians and finished working on the fort, they attacked the Union vessels at dawn on August 17. Lieutenant Kittredge responded with counter battery fire and silenced the guns temporarily. Whenever the Union ships ceased firing, the Confederates would man the battery again and continue fighting. This process of repeatedly silencing the battery lasted all day and night until Kittredge withdrew his ships due to the darkness. Sachem and Corypheus were both damaged slightly, Bella Italia is known to have been hit as well, the shot wounded a petty officer.
Corpus Christi (left), Aransas Bay (top), Corpus Christi Bay (right), Oso Bay (bottom)
At night on the 17, Belle Italia sent a shore party of thirty sailors and a 12-pounder howitzer to attack the battery, seventy other sailors were available for landing but only Bella Italia's thirty were engaged. That same night rebel forces scuttled A.B. in the shallow channel that leads to Nueces Bay. Kittredge in Corypheus repeatedly tried to tow the ship out of the channel before it burned completely, this was undertaken either to take the ship as a prize but most likely to prevent the ship from sinking and blocking the narrow channel. The Union ships stayed as far away as possible which helped prevent casualties on both sides. The distance of the ships from the fort meant both forces had to fire at maximum range, thus decreasing the accuracy of their shots. The Confederate gunners were also untrained, a shortage of gun powder left the gunners without being able to practice firing.
The next morning the landing force advanced until within cannon and musket shot of the battery, fighting again commenced and soon the ships continued the bombardment of the rebel guns. At this time Major Hobby and twenty-five infantry advanced order to defend the battery. Cavalry under Lieutenant James A. Ware were held in reserve but eventually joined in on the attack. Skirmishing continued for a while, the Union sailors held out due to their ships which supported them with artillery fire. After a prolonged skirmish, the Union forces on land began to run low on ammunition so they started an organized retreat back to Bella Italia with help from the blockade. Fort Kinney was not taken but at this time was silenced due to Union fire. the Confederates having defeated the shore party withdrew to the town and the Union observed this. The ships began bombarding the coastal buildings where the rebels had withdrawn to, most of which were houses and stores. After all the ammunition aboard the warships were fired, the battle was over and Kittredge ordered his ships north into Aransas Bay. During the bombardment a Unionist living in Corpus Christi named John Dix, grabbed his American flag and headed for the roof of his Water Street home. Dix intented to wave the flag at the U.S. ships as a sign of surrender. Hoxever, before he could get to his roof his daughter-in-law stopped him. She was married to Dix's son who was fighting for the Confederacy. The daughter carried a shotgun and pointed it at her father-in-law until the flag was put away. When the bombing was over, the Confederates in town were very angry and many of the Unionists were happy, despite having been attacked by their own side. The anger led to the rebel looting of several houses belonging to Union supporters.
Aftermath
Casualties of the engagement are mostly unknown, two Union men were wounded, one a aboard Bella Italia. At least one rebel was killed in action aswell. Once in Aransas Bay, the ships reunited with Arthur who had left the blockade earlier. The battle ended as a tactical victory for the United States, they were capable of destroying the Confederate naval activily in the area and silenced the enemy fort protecting Corpus Christi and the bay. Confederate forces did however defeat the Union shore party and continued to hold the town and the silenced fort when the battle was over.
United States
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Lieutenant John W. Kittredge