Crews of the Bayou City and Neptune in the battle of Galveston

John Winn

Lt. Colonel
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Mar 13, 2014
Location
State of Jefferson
I would like to know the crews of these two ships which were apparently the only two Confederate vessels involved in the battle of Galveston. I've done some looking but have come up empty handed. If anyone can refer me to a list of the crews of these vessels I'd be most appreciative.

Thanks.
 
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I believe that would be a @AndyHall question
 
John, I don't recall seeing a full roster for either vessel. This is due in part to the fact that the large majority of the men on board were soldiers, mostly drawn from volunteers from the Fifth Texas Cavalry, recently returned from the New Mexico Campaign, and Companies B and C of the First Texas Heavy Artillery. These men were probably on and off the boats again within 24 hours or so. Both boats were normally used as transports, and had much smaller regular crews in their normal operations.

A couple of other very small points. Neither Bayou City not Neptune No. 2 should carry the prefix "CSS," as they were never commissioned into the Confederate States Navy. They were officially part of the Texas Marine Department, a collection of boats and crews formed from former civilian steamboats and crews that ran in the area before the war, that was operationally under the control of the senior Confederate Army commander. There were two additional Texas Marine Department boats at the battle, Lucy Gwinn and John F. Carr, that served as tenders or support vessels to the larger "cottonclads." Neither of those were armed, or took part in the fighting that day.
 

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John, I don't recall seeing a full roster for either vessel. This is due in part to the fact that the large majority of the men on board were soldiers, mostly drawn from volunteers from the Fifth Texas Cavalry, recently returned from the New Mexico Campaign, and Companies B and C of the First Texas Heavy Artillery. These men were probably on and off the boats again within 24 hours or so. Both boats were normally used as transports, and had much smaller regular crews in their normal operations.

A couple of other very small points. Neither Bayou City not Neptune No. 2 should carry the prefix "CSS," as they were never commissioned into the Confederate States Navy. They were officially part of the Texas Marine Department, a collection of boats and crews formed from former civilian steamboats and crews that ran in the area before the war, that was operationally under the control of the senior Confederate Army commander. There were two additional Texas Marine Department boats at the battle, Lucy Gwinn and John F. Carr, that served as tenders or support vessels to the larger "cottonclads." Neither of those were armed, or took part in the fighting that day.


And with that good read you've showed us I now want to read the whole book, excellent read and best written material I've come across on the Battle of Galveston in a long time.
 
John, I don't recall seeing a full roster for either vessel. This is due in part to the fact that the large majority of the men on board were soldiers, mostly drawn from volunteers from the Fifth Texas Cavalry, recently returned from the New Mexico Campaign, and Companies B and C of the First Texas Heavy Artillery. These men were probably on and off the boats again within 24 hours or so. Both boats were normally used as transports, and had much smaller regular crews in their normal operations.

A couple of other very small points. Neither Bayou City not Neptune No. 2 should carry the prefix "CSS," as they were never commissioned into the Confederate States Navy. They were officially part of the Texas Marine Department, a collection of boats and crews formed from former civilian steamboats and crews that ran in the area before the war, that was operationally under the control of the senior Confederate Army commander. There were two additional Texas Marine Department boats at the battle, Lucy Gwinn and John F. Carr, that served as tenders or support vessels to the larger "cottonclads." Neither of those were armed, or took part in the fighting that day.

Thank you Andy - I really appreciate your informative response.

Is it known who captained the Bayou City and Neptune No. 2 ? That's what I really wanted to find out.
 
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