Well, sand, really. 

Scour any book on the American Civil War and you'll find plenty of Texans who distinguished themselves. 

What you won't find is much Texas.

Texas soil wasn't much touched by the War but Texas water and sand? ...different story. There was the capture of Galveston, the Battle of Corpus Christi, and a whole mess of naval affairs - Aransas Pass, Velasco, San Luis Pass, Port Isabel, Corpus Christi Pass.

No depictions of these historic naval affairs exist, with the exception of the latter skirmish. It was the subject of a peculiar 1862 painting by a Confederate Ordnance Sergeant out of Live Oak County - David Reed Gambel. Gambel was a house painter by vocation and a raging alcoholic by avocation, who gave us a rare glimpse of action off the Texas coast.

If you've fished Packery Channel or visited Whitecap Beach you were, probably unknowingly, visiting the Civil War battle site Gambel captured in his painting.

It depicts Capt. John Ireland (Governor Ireland in about twenty years time) with a band of seven soldiers and three sailors, briskly firing from the dunes of North Padre Island at two boatloads of Union sailors sent by the Arthur, a U.S. Navy blockading barque.

After suffering two fatalities from Southern rifles, the Feds pulled for Mustang Island, across the pass, returned fire, then retreated on foot to what would become Port Aransas. Ireland and his men took their boats into Corpus Christi as prizes.

The original painting is a strange critter, indeed, and our prints stay true to its strangeness.

Gambel - likely intent on selling copies of his painting and wishing to expedite the production of his wares - had the borders and titles printed on what would be his canvas. While at the printer's office, he added a little self-authored rhyme to snub his nose at the Union.

(Sensitive folks be forewarned - Gambel used some colorful language and signed his poem "Adam Phewl.")

He painted the scene within the bounds of the printed borders, creating a fine Civil War folk art painting inside a lithographic container - the equivalent of dropping a 6.4 Hemi into a Dodge Caravan.

Only one copy of his painting is known to exist and it's in a private collection. We are honored to have the exclusive opportunity to offer prints of it to y'all. 

If you're a Civil War buff, this print deserves a spot in your collection. You won't see one again.

If you have a friend with a condo down on North Padre or Port Aransas, he needs one for Christmas. He'll enjoy telling his guests the story of the fight at the pass. "Seven versus twenty-two!"

We're printing David Gambel's artwork on heavyweight fine art paper. It's acid free, so your print won't yellow and deteriorate. Edge to edge, it measures 24" x 18" so it will fit in a standard size frame. The edition is limited to 254 copies, each hand-numbered. 

Physical Details