Port Arthur, TX

Being a Texan I had to visit a Civil War spot in Texas. The major battles took place along the coast because the Union wanted to stop the Confederate from gaining supplies by sea. This first step dictated the rest of my route to Charlotte. By visiting Port Arthur I hope to connect to my Texan mentality. The South tends to root itself in the past, being a southerner I'm inclined to understand why: we are a proud, stubborn, loyal region that acts as if we won the civil war in this twisted, almost spiritual way. Texas has its own spin off these traits to make it and even more bizarre and awesome place, as do most other southern states. I think McElwee understood this, and maybe he wanted to connect and capture that southerner mentality as crazy as it may be. By visiting Civil War sites and other southern I hope to also connect to that romantic Southern mentality.

 Photo Credit: Dipity.com

Photo Credit: Virtualtourist.com

Leaving around 6am with Hostess chocolate and powder donuts  (we must have both because I prefer chocolate and Whitney powder) we should reach Port Arthur around noon. Our first stop: Sabine Pass Battleground. On September 8, 1863 the battle of Sabine Pass occurred as the Union attempted to invade and occupy part of Texas where the Sabine River flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The campaign to occupy Texas came from a need of cotton by northern textile mills and a scare that the French might intervene in the Mexican Revolution. The U.S. Navy sent four gunboats mounting 18 guns to take over Fort Griffin, which sat at Sabine Pass. The Davis Guards, a Confederate Army unit composed of 45 enlisted men, protected Fort Griffin, and though outnumber secured a Confederate win and captured 350 union men along with two gunboats. The Davis guards fired their cannons 107 times in 35 minutes of action, a rate of less than two minutes per shot! A monument (right photo) was erected where Fort Griffin use to be in honor of Lt. Dowling and his 46 soldiers.

After site seeing We’ll grab dinner at Olde Time Diner, named one of the top spots to eat in Port Arthur and then grab some ZZZ’s at Holiday Inn Park Central.