Civil War and Reconstruction Era
1861-1870
Era of War
By: Lucas Wang and Samantha Herrmann

Timeline of Events

• Texans joined the Confederacy in 1861 to respond to Lincoln.
• In fall of 1862, the Union forces took the major port in Galveston.
• On January 1st, 1863, Confederate forces had retaken the city of Galveston.
• The war ended on April 9th, 1865
• The news reached Texas on June 19th, 1865, a day now celebrated as Juneteeth.

The state of Texas stated it was leaving from the Union forces on February 1, 1861, after Texas had replaced their governor named Sam Houston, when he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederate forces. Texas joined the Confederate Forces on March 2, 1861.

The Battle of Galveston Harbor was a battle between forces from the Union Navy and the Confederate States in the Civil War. The battle happened on October 4, 1862. The Union had been trying to form a blockade for the city of Galveston, Texas for more than a year, but it was still owned by Confederate hands. After a little bit of gunshot, Commander William B. Renshaw agreed to a truce. The Battle of Galveston agreed to a truce while the Confederate Forces left the city. The Battle of Galveston harbor is now commonly known as the First Battle of Galveston.

In this slide, we will be telling about Galveston retaking the city. The USS Westfield was stuck in a sandbar. A three-hour truce was called by John B. Magruder, but A Union Fleet Commander William B. Renshaw chose to ignore the negotiation offer, and attempted to destroy the stuck Westfield with explosives rather than let it fall into enemy hands. Renshaw and several Union troops were afterward killed when the explosives were set off too early. Union troops on shore thought that their own ships were surrendering and, therefore, surrendered their weapons. The remaining U.S. ships did not surrender and succeeded in retreating to Union-controlled New Orleans.

The war ended on April 9th, 1865 when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House. The official news did not reach Texas until June 19, 1865, a day now celebrated as Juneteeth. When General Gordan Granger and Union forces landed in Galveston. They had arrived to occupy the state, and to order emancipation of all slaves in Texas. Reconstruction had started.

Our summary of this era is that it was a time filled with battle and ended war and that a lot of big events happened in Galveston that helped form our nation.

Cites:
Website Texas our Texas for the article Civil War and Reconstruction by Katie Whitehurst. Also, we used Wikipedia.

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