The Galveston Affair Map of Galveston Harbor, Showing the Position of the Union Fleet at the Time of the Attack.

Assuaging the public about the loss of Galveston in early 1863.

This simple, but effective, plan of the Battle of Galveston was published on the front page of the January 196, 1863 edition of the New York Herald. Just over two weeks prior, a Confederate force under John Magruder attacked the Union troops and gunboats defending the coastal city. A serious miscommunication between land and sea forces meant the numerically superior defenders were forced to either surrender or retreat, resulting in ‘The Galveston Disaster’ (upper left).

Accompanying text offers an interesting description of the engagement and a somewhat mixed analysis of the results. “A glance at the map and an understanding of the situation of the island and harbor will satisfy one that Galveston has no strategical advantages…Galveston possesses many advantages as a base of operations for the rebels.” Other interesting articles discuss a destructive fire at Aspinwall (Colon), rebel privateer retribution, and the emancipation of former slaves in Washington, D.C.