As the sun rose over the southeastern corner of Texas on the morning of Sep. 8, 1863, four Yankee warships began the bombardment of the pitiful excuse for a fort at Sabine Pass.
Union strategists resolved in the summer of 1863 to compensate for the embarrassing New Year’s Day loss of Galveston with a surprise attack of their own. Rebel spies were spoon-fed false intelligence hinting at an enemy off…