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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

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  • Ship History
Wars & Conflicts
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Location of Archival Materials
Bayou City
(Str: dr. 3'; a. 1 32-pdr.)

Bayou City, originally a mail boat that ran between Galveston and Houston, Tex., was chartered on 26 September 1861 by Comdr. W. Hunter, CSN, commanding the Texas Marine Department, from the Houston Navigation Co. Fitted with cotton cladding, she was operated by the State of Texas [See Annex III] in the area of Galveston harbor and the Trinity River until October 1862 when she was taken over by the War Department. Bayou City played an important part in the battle of Galveston during which she attacked USS Harriet Lane, ramming and boarding her to effect capture on 1 January 1863. Thereafter, the Marine Department employed her as gunboat and guardboat along the coast of Texas until the end of the war.