- Joined
- Sep 15, 2018
- Location
- South Texas
There are very few students of the Civil War that aren't familiar with the firing on the Star of the West by the cadets on Morris Island on Feb. 9th of 1861. But how many are aware of an incident five days after Fort Sumter down in Texas. All US military installations were surrendered by Gen. Twiggs to Col. Ben McCulloch in San Antonio on Feb. 18, 1861. The U.S. soldiers that had been surrendered were marched down to the seaport of Indianola were to be transported by way of ship back up North .I'm not sure of the original destination but unknown to the soldiers, War had been declared between the time of their surrender in San Antonio and their arrival at Indianola. The transport that was to return these soldiers North was the Star of the West. It became too much of a prize to Col. Earl Van Dorn to ignore. On April 17, 1861 the Star of the West was seized by the CS soldiers on board the General Rusk. It was sent to New Orleans were it became the CSS St. Phillip. It was later sank in the Tallahatchie River on March 13, 1863 as a river obstruction during the Vicksburg Campaign.