When the surrender did not come quickly enough, Renshaw brought in his other ships and opened fire, quickly disabling the Confederate artillery, which consisted of only one operational gun. A four-day truce was agreed upon, allowing evacuation of the remaining civilians, after which the city surrendered.
Galveston was occupied, its harbor was patrolled by six Union ships, and its waterfront was occupied by Massachusetts infantrymen. Confederate artillery, which had been moved into position during the dark of night, opened fired on the Federal gunboats. In a coordinated attack, Generals John B. MacGruder and William B. Scurry led troops across an abandoned railroad bridge to capture the Union garrison.
Union attempts to recapture Galveston were then thwarted by defenders who exaggerated the strength of their fortifications with wooden "Quaker guns," while real cannon were returned to the city. By the end of the Civil War, Galveston had been blockaded, besieged, captured, occupied, recaptured, and defended. On the following day, he officially announced that the war was over and that the enslaved African American population in Texas was free.
Locally and nationally, this event became known as Juneteenth. For full functionality please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Need Help? Text In , Galveston served as a thriving island port and major commercial hub on the Texas gulf coast. Scurry crossed an abandoned railroad bridge and surprised the Massachusetts infantrymen who had occupied the Galveston waterfront. This action took place early in the morning on New Year's Day, and was coordinated with artillery and naval attacks on the Union gunboats in Galveston Harbor.
Confederate blockade runners were extremely successful at evading the Union ships during the remaining months of , successfully supplying Texas and other southern states.
The island lay in the pathway of hurricanes coursing across the Gulf of Mexico and suffered at least eleven times in the nineteenth century. The Galveston hurricane of , with wind gusts of miles per hour, flooded the city, battered homes and buildings with floating debris, and killed an estimated 6, people in the city.
Another 4, to 6, people died on the nearby coast. For future protection the city and county constructed a seventeen-foot seawall on the Gulf side of the island, raised the grade level, and built an all-weather bridge to the mainland.
The development of other ports by means of the ship channels, alternative sites for business and manufacturing provided by other modes of transportation, and notoriety because of hurricanes destined the island city to medium size. In it had a population of 61, and ranked twenty-ninth in the state.
Their idea was to have the governor of the state appoint a mayor and four commissioners. Each commissioner would control a specific function of government-finance, police and fire control, water and sewage, streets and public improvements. Since the original plan was patently undemocratic, it was subsequently revised to provide for the election of the officers.
The commission plan was somewhat popular in the years before World War I but faded in the s in favor of the city-manager plan. Galveston, however, continued with the commission government until , when it too changed to a city-manager form. During the years between the world wars Galveston, under the influence of Sam and Rosario Rose Maceo, exploited the prohibition of liquor and gambling by offering illegal drinks and betting in nightclubs and saloons. This, combined with the extensive prostitution which had existed in the port city since the Civil War, made Galveston the sin city of the Gulf.
The citizens tolerated and supported the illegal activities and took pride in being "the free state of Galveston. Between and Galveston voters in nonbinding referenda defeated proposals to legalize casino gambling, although proponents argued that gambling could promote the local economy.
Pursuant to a law enacted by the Texas legislature, however, gambling on board cruise ships embarking from Galveston was expected to boost business activity in the wharf district beginning in September Galveston has survived on its port, tourism, and the University of Texas Medical Branch.
In the later s the Galveston Historical Foundation encouraged historic preservation in the old business area of the Strand and various Victorian homes, which has added to the visitor attractions of the city. The famous Rosenberg Library serves as a circulating library as well as an important repository for archival materials pertaining to the history of Galveston and Texas. The restoration of the nineteenth-century square-rigged vessel, Elissa , in —82 gave Texans their own "Tall Ship" to sail into New York harbor for the celebration of the centennial of the Statue of Liberty.
In the population was 57, By , it was the largest and richest city in Texas. The tragedy that was the Great Storm is the worst natural disaster ever recorded in North America. It hit Galveston on September 8, Few managed to evacuate before the bridges to the mainland collapsed, resulting in the loss of more than 6, lives estimations vary.
Due to a lack of storm monitoring equipment, residents had little warning to evacuate when surging seas and high winds enveloped the island. After this, Galveston, being the resilient city that it is, raised most of the island 17 feet to create Seawall Boulevard.
It took around eight years to complete the raising of city blocks—all done by hand to prevent damage from future storms. People walked on raised wooden sidewalks during the construction, which also included building 2, homes. The Storm led to the development of the celebrated Seawall and a shift away from being a trade center to an entertainment and gambling hub. A popular haunt was the Balinese Room, a famous nightclub on the pier that hosted some of the biggest names of the era, even Frank Sinatra.
It was also an illegal casino that invited much mob activity. Sadly, the structure was destroyed by Hurricane Ike on September 13,
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