Hey everyone, thanks for tuning into the 390th episode of our Civil War Podcast.

I'm Rich.

And Tracy won't be joining us for this episode.

We've been having some technical difficulties, recording with both of us.

We think it's the microphone, so while we are waiting for a new microphone, I'm just

going to go ahead and record this episode solo so that we can get it out to you.

But we'll go ahead and anticipate that with the next show, Tracy will be able to rejoin

us.

Okay.

Well, as you guys will recall, we used the last episode to set the stage for the Battle

of Sabine Pass, which took place in East Texas on September 8, 1863.

A major general Nathaniel Banks, the commander of the Federalist Department of the Gulf, wanted

to recapture the port of Galveston.

But rather than attacking the place directly, he decided that an indirect approach would

work best.

To that end, Banks chose Sabine Pass as the spot to begin his invasion of Texas.

As Banks envisioned it, the invasion of Texas would fall into place like a row of dominoes

once the landing at Sabine Pass was successfully accomplished.

From Sabine Pass, the Federalist would move inland to Beaumont, then march west along the

line of the Texas and New Orleans railroad to Liberty and then to Houston.

And once in possession of Houston, the Federalist would advance down the line of the Houston

and Galveston railroad and approach Galveston from the rear.

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