Union Gunboat, Sunk in 1863, Believed Found Near Smith Point

A Houston shell dredging crew, operating in the Smith Point vicinity, may have discovered the resting place of one of two Union gunboats sunk in the Battle of Galveston, January 1, 1863.

Capt. B. K. Parker, head of the Parker Bros. Shell, Sand and Gravel Company of Houston , said one of his crews discovered the old ship last Saturday night, and recovered a rigging block, other bits of ship timbers and an ancient Colt revolver and scabbard.

The site was marked, and is approximately three miles north-east of Smith Point.

Captain Parker said the crew was dredging shell when suction pipe on the dredge became cogged. The dredge backed off and when the pipe was cleared, bits of the ship's timber and the one gun were recovered.

The dredge was dredging sell 23 feet below the surface of the water when the pipe was clogged.

“The handle of the gun was gone and the pistol rusted,” Mr. Parker said. “The leather scabbard seemed to have withstood the submersion better than the metal.”

Captain Parker said his company was not interested in salvaging any other parts of the ship.

“But we marked the spot with a buoy and if anyone is interested in investigating the wreckage, they are welcome,” he said.

Another official of the company said that skin divers had requested permission to investigate the wreckage, but he advised them to be very careful because the dredge had undermined the ship when they were trying to go around it. He estimated the length of the ship to be from 9 to 100 feet long. The federal gunboats Neptune and Westfield were sunk and the Harriet Lane captured in those waters when Confederate force recaptured Galveston in 1863.

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