Richard William Dowling (baptized 14 January 1837 – 23 September 1867) was an Irish-born

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

who achieved distinction as commander at the battle of Sabine Pass (1863), the most one-sided

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

victory during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. It is considered the "

Thermopylae Thermopylae (; ; Ancient: , Katharevousa: ; ; "hot gates") is a narrow pass and modern town in Lamia (city), Lamia, Phthiotis, Greece. It derives its name from its Mineral spring, hot sulphur springs."Thermopylae" in: S. Hornblower & A. Spaw ...

of the Confederacy" and prevented

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

from being conquered by the Union. For his actions, Dowling received the "thanks of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

" (of the Confederate States), Davis Guards Medal,

Southern Cross of Honor The Southern Cross of Honor was a commemorative medal established in 1899 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to honor Confederate veterans. Design The Cross of Honor is in the form of a cross pattée suspended from a metal bar with sp ...

, and Confederate Medal of Honor. Over a dozen other memorials have also been dedicated in his honor.

Biography

Dowling was born in the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

of Knockballyvishteal, Milltown,

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in January 1837, the second of eight children, born to

tenant farmer A tenant farmer is a farmer or farmworker who resides and works on land owned by a landlord, while tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and ma ...

Patrick and Bridget Dowling (née Qualter). Following eviction of his family from their home in 1845, the first year of the Great Famine, nine-year-old Dowling left Ireland with his older sister Honora, bound for

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in the United States in 1846.Dick Dowling: Galway's hero of Confederate Texas, by Timothy Collins and Ann Caraway Ivins. Old Forge Books, 2013 As a teenager, young Dick Dowling displayed his entrepreneurial skills by successfully running the Continental Coffeehouse, a saloon in the fashionable

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the (; ; ), is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans () was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Square" in English), a ...

. His parents and siblings followed from Ireland in 1851, but the joy of reunion was short-lived. In 1853, a yellow fever outbreak in New Orleans took the lives of his parents and one of his younger brothers. With rising anti-Irish feeling growing in New Orleans, following local elections which saw a landslide victory for the '

Know Nothing The American Party, known as the Native American Party before 1855 and colloquially referred to as the Know Nothings, or the Know Nothing Party, was an Old Stock Americans, Old Stock Nativism in United States politics, nativist political movem ...

' party, Dowling moved to Houston in 1857, where he leased the first of a number of saloons, a two-story building centrally located on the corner of Main and Prairie Streets. He named it the Shades, from the

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

and cottonwood trees which lined the two streets and shaded the building. Advertised as 'inferior to none in the state' he opened a

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...

saloon on the first floor. Dowling was described as a likable red-headed Irishman and wore a large moustache, possibly to make him appear older than he looked, as he was called 'The Kid' by family and friends alike at this time. In 1857 he married Elizabeth Ann Odlum, daughter of Benjamin Digby Odlum, a

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

-born Irishman, who had fought in the

Texas War of Independence The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. Although th ...

, being captured at the

Battle of Refugio The Battle of Refugio was fought from March 12–15, 1836, near Refugio, Texas. Mexico, Mexican General José Urrea and 1,500 Centralista soldiers fought against Amon B. King and his 28 American volunteers and Lieutenant Colonel William Ward ...

in 1836. Following Texas Independence, he was elected subsequently to the fledgling Third Congress of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

Business and civic interests

By 1860, Dowling owned a number of saloons. His most successful was named the Bank of

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Gre ...

, located on Courthouse Square in downtown Houston. "The Bank" as it was known locally became Houston's most popular social gathering place in the 1860s and was renowned for its hospitality. Dowling's previous experience as a barkeeper in New Orleans stood him in good stead. Quickly establishing himself, Dowling courted publicity from local newspapers and also made a number of property investments. He was also involved in setting up Houston's first gaslight company, and was first to have it installed in his home and "The Bank". Dowling was a founding member of Houston's Hook and Ladder Company Number One fire department and was also involved in running the city's first streetcar company

American Civil War

Background

Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, Dowling had made a name for himself as an able and successful entrepreneur. Among other things, he had been involved with a predominantly Irish

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

company which served a more social than military role in Houston society. On

Secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

, this militia company was mustered straight into the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

, with Dowling himself being elected

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

. Composed primarily of Houston Irish, many of them clients from his saloons, this unit named themselves the "Davis Guards" in honor of Confederate President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

, who had been in Texas as a young officer in the pre-war

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and was remembered for his prowess and leadership skills. The Davis Guards were initially part of a Texas State Troops/Confederate expedition sent to take over Union Army forts and arsenals along the border with Mexico; the expedition was successfully completed without a shot being fired. They participated in the

Battle of Galveston The Battle of Galveston was a naval and land battle of the American Civil War, when Confederate forces under Major Gen. John B. Magruder expelled occupying Union troops from the city of Galveston, Texas on January 1, 1863. After the loss of ...

on New Year's Day 1863, following which they were assigned to a newly constructed artillery post near the mouth of Sabine River called "Fort Sabine" (later named "Fort Griffin", not the same as the later

Fort Griffin Fort Griffin, now a Texas state historic site as Fort Griffin State Historic Site, was a US Cavalry fort established 31 July 1867 by four companies of the Sixth Cavalry, U.S. ArmyCarter, R.G., ''On the Border with Mackenzie'', 1935, Washingto ...

established west of

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

Prelude

Sabine Pass Sabine Pass is the natural outlet of Sabine Lake into the Gulf of Mexico. It borders Jefferson County, Texas, and Cameron Parish, Louisiana. History Civil War Two major battles occurred here during the American Civil War, known as the First an ...

was important as a point of arrival and departure for

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...

s. With the fall of Vicksburg in July 1863, followed by the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

, it was obvious that the Civil War was now not going well for the Confederacy, an invasion of Texas appeared to be imminent. It was suspected that the Union Army would attempt an invasion of Texas via Sabine Pass, because of its value as a harbor for blockade runners and because about 18 miles northwest was Beaumont, on the railroad between Houston and the eastern part of the Confederacy. To negotiate Sabine Pass all vessels except small boats took one of the two river channels, both of about depth and one on each side of the Pass. These channels were separated by naturally formed "oyster-banks" known to be barely under the surface. No seagoing ship could traverse the Pass without great risk of going aground, if it did not follow one of the channels. The inevitable course of any

steam-powered A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tra ...

warship—including shallow-draft

gunboats A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

then common to the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

—would necessarily use one of the channels, both of which were within fair range of the fort's six smoothbores. Dowling spent the summer of 1863 at the earthen fort instructing his men in gunnery. To mark the optimum distance and elevation for each of the guns, he implemented the technique of setting long slender poles (painted white, in this instance) in both channels at several places. This was an old method for guiding boats and, especially since the advent of firearms, to mark an aiming points for guns.

Defense of Sabine Pass, Texas

On 8 September 1863 a Union Navy

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same cla ...

of some 22 gunboats and transports with 5,000 men accompanied by

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

and

arrived off the mouth of Sabine Pass. The plan of invasion was sound, but monumentally mismanaged. Four of the flanking gunboats were to steam up the pass at speed and draw the fire of the fort, two in each channel, a tactic which had been used successfully in subduing the defensive fortifications of Mobile and New Orleans prior to this, when gunboats disabled the forts at close range with their own guns. This time, though, Dowling's artillery drills paid off as the Confederates poured a rapid and withering fire onto the incoming gunboats, scoring several direct hits, disabling and capturing two, while the others retreated in disarray. The rest of the flotilla retreated from the mouth of the pass and returned ignominiously to New Orleans, leaving the disabled ships with no option but to surrender to Dowling. With a command of just 47 men, Lieut. Dowling had thwarted an attempted invasion of Texas, in the process capturing two gunboats, some 350 prisoners and a large quantity of supplies and munitions.

Davis Guards Medal

The

Confederate States Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly/legislature of the Confederate States of America that existed from February 1861 to April/June 1865, during the American Civil War. Its actions were, ...

offered its appreciation to Dowling, now promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, and his command, as a result of their battlefield prowess. In gratitude, the "ladies of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

" presented the unit with specially struck medals. The medals were actually Mexican eight reale coins with both faces sanded down and with new information carved into them. They were inscribed "Sabine Pass, 1863” on one side, and had a

Maltese Cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...

with the letters D and G on the other.

After the war and death

After the battle of Sabine Pass Dowling was elevated to hero status in his hometown of Houston. John Nova Lomax of the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown Houston, Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely ...

'' stated that in that city "Dowling was treated something like

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

home from a punishing foray into

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

." He subsequently served as a recruiter for the Confederacy and was personally commended for his action at the battle by

. After the war Dowling returned to his saloon business in Houston and quickly became one of the city's leading businessmen. Dowling's promising future was cut short by another yellow fever epidemic which devastated Houston in the late summer of 1867, and he died on 23 September 1867. He was buried at St. Vincent's Catholic Cemetery, the oldest Catholic cemetery in Houston.Davis, Rod.
Houston's really good idea Bus tour celebrates communities that forged a city.
''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas, founded in 1865. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the sta ...

''. Sunday 3 August 2003. Travel 1M. Retrieved on 11 February 2012.

Legacy

Several places in Houston were named after Dowling. Lomax wrote in 2009 that by then very few people in the city memorialized him and that the group was "vanishing (if not downright extinct)". In regards to sites named after Dowling, Lomax stated that there have been objections to sites named after Dowling, "But this being Houston, where 1980 is ancient history, nothing is ever done." Two sites, now Emancipation Drive and Lawson Middle School (formerly Dowling Street and Dowling Middle School) have since been renamed.

Davis Guards Medal (1863)

The Davis Guards Medal was presented by the "ladies of

" in 1863 to the

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

. It is regarded to be the only medal authorized for wear on the Confederate uniform. Of the 50 medals issued, only 3 are known to still exist. They are on display at the

American Civil War Museum The American Civil War Museum is a multi-site museum in the Greater Richmond Region of central Virginia, dedicated to the history of the American Civil War. The museum operates three sites: The White House of the Confederacy, the American Civil ...

Bullock Texas State History Museum The Bullock Texas State History Museum (often referred to as the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum or Bullock Museum) is a history museum in Austin, Texas. The museum, located a few blocks north of the Texas State Capitol at 1800 North Con ...

, and Texas Military Forces Museum.

Thanks of Congress (1864)

On 8 February 1864, the officers and men of Company F (Davis Guards), 1st (Cook's) Texas Heavy Artillery Regiment,

, received the "thanks of

Dowling Street (1892)

In 1892, the

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. The Council has sixteen members: eleven from council districts and five elected at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, wi ...

renamed East Broadway to Dowling Street. On 11 January 2017, Houston City Council approved a plan to rename Dowling Street to Emancipation Avenue.

Tuam Street (1892)

In 1892, the

renamed a street, which is perpendicular to Dowling Street (now Emancipation Avenue), to Tuam Street, the namesake of Dowling's birthplace Tuam, Ireland.

Southern Cross of Honor (1899)

Dowling was posthumously awarded the

in 1899.

Statue (1905)

In 1905, the

commissioned a statue of Dowling by

Frank Teich Frank Teich (September 22, 1856 – January 27, 1939) was a German-born American sculptor, stone carver, and businessman, often referred to as the father of the Texas granite industry. Early life and education Teich was born on September 22, ...

for the

Houston City Hall The Houston City Hall building is the headquarters of the City of Houston's municipal government. Constructed during 1938 and 1939, the City Hall complex is located on Bagby Street on the western side of Downtown Houston. It is surrounded by t ...

. It was relocated to Sam Houston Park in 1939 and

Hermann Park Hermann Park is a urban park in Houston, Texas, situated at the southern end of the Houston Museum District, Museum District. The park is located to the immediate north end of the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Texas Medical Center and Brays Ba ...

near the

Sam Houston Monument The Sam Houston Monument is an outdoor bronze sculpture of Sam Houston by Enrico Cerracchio, installed at the northwest corner of Houston's Hermann Park, in the U.S. state of Texas. The work is administered by the City of Houston's Municipal ...

in 1958. In 2020 the City of Houston moved the statue into storage until a suitable place could be found to display it. This was the first public monument commissioned by the city government; he was chosen as he fought in favor of the CSA.

Historical Marker (1998)

The site received a

Historical Marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...

(#11938) by the

Texas Historical Commission The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the U.S. state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas. The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Histor ...

in 1998.

Obelisk (1935)

In October 1935, a granite obelisk was built near Dowling's grave at Saint Vincent's Cemetery in Houston. The plaque reads: ''"Near this spot lies LT DICK DOWLING Hero of the Battle of Sabine Pass".''

Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site (1936)

The Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site is the location of the Defense of Sabine Pass, Texas. It is a

heritage site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

operated by the

. It features a statue of Dowling and memorial dedicated to the Davis Guards from the State of Texas in 1936.

Dowling Road (1936)

Dowling Road leads to the

Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site is located in Jefferson County, Texas, where the Sabine River enters the Gulf of Mexico. The site is the location of a significant Civil War battle. In September 1863, members of the Davis Guard—led ...

Historical Marker (1936)

The

received a

(#10509) by the

in 1936.

Monument (1937)

In 1937, the

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, a ...

a grey granite monument dedicated to Dowling in the center of the intersection of State Highway 87 and Broadway Street in downtown Sabine Pass, TX. It was relocated in the 1960s to a new location on State Highway.

Dick Dowling Elementary School (1953)

In March 1953, the Dick Dowling Elementary School was built and dedicated in Port Arthur, Texas. It was renamed to Port Acres Elementary School in October 2018.

Confederate Medal of Honor (1977)

Dowling was posthumously awarded the Confederate Medal of Honor in 1977.

Dowling Middle School (1968)

In 1968 the Richard W. "Dick" Dowling Middle School was built and dedicated in Houston, Texas. It is in the

Hiram Clarke Hiram Clarke is an area in Houston, Texas, United States, southwest of NRG Park (formerly Reliant Park). History Hiram Clarke Road was named after Hiram Clarke, a Houston Lighting & Power Co. assistant general manager and executive vice presid ...

area of

Southwest Houston Southwest Houston is a region in Houston, Texas, Houston, Texas, United States. The area is considered to be from Texas State Highway 6, south of Westpark Tollway to north of U.S. Route 90. Many Section 8 (housing) complexes are located in South ...

.Lomax, John Nova.
Houston 101: The Short Happy Life of Dick Dowling
" ''

''. Wednesday 26 August 2009. Retrieved on 26 October 2011. " ..nd a middle school with 99 percent minority enrollment (Vince Young's alma mater) out in the Hiram Clarke area." It was renamed to Audrey H. Lawson Middle School in May 2016.

Tuam Plaque (1998)

In 1998, the town of

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

also placed a bronze memorial plaque of Dowling, bearing his image and explaining his feats, on the facade of

Tuam Town Hall Tuam Town Hall () is a municipal building in the Market Square at Tuam, County Galway, Ireland. It is currently used as a community events venue. History The first municipal building in the town was a small market house which was built on the s ...

. It reads: :Major Richard W. (Dick) Dowling C.S.A., 1837-1867 Born Knock, Tuam; Settled Houston Texas, 1857; Outstanding business and civic leader; Joined Irish Davis Guards in American Civil War; With 47 men foiled Invasion of Texas by 5000 federal troops at Sabine Pass, 8 Sept 1863, a feat of superb gunnery; formed first oil company in Texas; Died aged 30 of yellow fever. This plaque was unveiled by Col. J.B. Collerain 31 May 1998 An

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

member of Tuam

municipal district A municipal district is an administrative entity comprising a clearly-defined territory and its population. It may be a city, a town, a village, a small grouping of them, or a rural area. Brazil In Brazil, municipal districts are, in general, su ...

council proposed removing the plaque at the council's September 2017 meeting, in the light of the 2017 Charlottesville disturbances. Nobody seconded the motion; a

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

councillor said the plaque commemorated Dowling's business career and Tuam had "more important things going on".

Bibliography

* Collins, Timothy. 'Dick Dowling: Galway's hero of Confederate Texas', by Timothy Collins and Ann Caraway Ivins; foreword by Edward T. Cotham Jr. Kilnaboy: Old Forge Books, 2013. * Cotham, Edward T. Jr. ' Battle on the Bay: the Civil War struggle for Galveston', by Edward T. Cotham Jr. Austin:

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is the university press of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly and trade books in several areas, including Latin American studies, Caribbean, Caribbea ...

, 1998. * Cotham, Edward T. Jr. 'Sabine Pass: the Confederacy's Thermopylae', by Edward T. Cotham Jr. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004. * Cotham, Edward T. Jr, ed. ''The Southern journey of a Civil War marine: the illustrated note-book of Henry O. Gusley'', edited and annotated by Edward T. Cotham Jr. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2006.

Gallery

File:Texas Military Davis Guard Medal.png, Davis Guards Medal, 1864 File:GraveDickDowling.JPG, Grave, St. Vincent's Cemetery, 1867 File:Richard Dowling Statue.jpg, Richard Dowling Memorial Statue, 1905 File:MarkerDowlingHouston.JPG, Obelisk, St. Vincent's Cemetery, 1935 File:Richard Dowling Memorial Sabine Pass TX.jpg,

, 1936 File:Richard W. Dowling Memorial Sabine Pass TX.jpg, UDC Memorial,

, 1937 File:Dick Dowling Plaque Tuam.JPG, Plaque,

, 1998