Confederate Artillery Battery Silhouette -- Port Lavaca TX USA
N 28° 37.094 W 096° 37.252
14R E 732609 N 3168003
The silhouette public art structure of the Confederate bombardment of federal troops occupying Port Lavaca, at Bayfront Peninsula Park near downtown Port Lavaca.
Waymark Code: WM163W4
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/28/2022
Views: 2
This silhouette public art sculpture Confederate Artillery Battery Silhouette is located on the south side of Bayfront Peninsula Park overlooking Lavaca Bay. It is near two historical markers and an interpretive sign discussing the complicated history of Port Lavaca during the Civil War.
This is one of two silhouette art sculptures depicting scenes from the Port Lavaca experience of the US Civil War that were erected by the Calhoun County historical commission through a generous donation from the Trull foundation.
This sculpture is made of steel, and has acquired a nice rust patina. It's located on a spit of land overlooking Lavaca Bay, looking southwest towards Matagorda Bay.
The sculpture is a representation of a Civil War-era Confederate artillery battery engaged in shelling federal troops blockading Port Lavaca and who from time to time would occupy the town. Four human figures and a Civil War artillery cannon are shown in the act of bombarding federal troops.
The northernmost figure is the battery commander. His arm is held up with two fingers signifying to others that preparing to give the order to fire. The second figure is located behind the cannon. He holds a lighter to light the artillery fuse fire the gun. Two other figures hold the implements that they used to load the projectile into the artillery and prepare it for firing. They have their fingers in their ears for some protection against the sound of the artillery fire.
This particular sculpture was erected in 2014. Source: (
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"The City of Port Lavaca and the Calhoun County Historical Commission will be hosting the Lavaca Artillery Battery Silhouette Ceremony on November 22, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at the Bayfront Peninsula Park in Port Lavaca. The public is invited to attend.
The metal silhouette represents the Home Guard firing on two Union gunboats that fired on this small town on October 31, 1862. Accurate fire from the shore batteries forced the ships to move outside the range of the smaller shore guns before resuming fire. The ships fired again on Lavaca the morning of November 1. A total of 252 rounds of shot and shell were fired by the Union navy, but caused no loss of life in a town suffering a yellow fever epidemic at the time.
“…nobly did both officers and men perform their duty, working their guns as coolly as though on inspection, while a perfect storm of shot and shell rained around them. And this, although yellow fever had decimated their ranks.” – Lt. and Adjutant George E. Conkin.
Calhoun County had a very active participation in the Civil War. The Green Lake area in the Guadalupe River Bottom housed all of the Federal Soldiers who had to leave Texas in 1861. Fort Esperanza and Saluria were destroyed and the Federal troops tramped/sailed past Port O’Connor to take over Indianola. On Christmas Eve 1861, the Battle of Norris Bridge took place and Federal troops marched into Lavaca on Christmas Day."
Despite frequent hurricanes, including hurricane Harvey, the sculpture is still standing at the park. We hope that it will stand for many decades to come.