 The port at Sabine City was connected by a rail spur to the rail line running from the eastern border of Texas to Houston and Galveston.Although the port and entrance to the pass over the bar was shallow, it served coastal trade and, increasingly, blockade runners.In September 1862 the commander of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, Rear Admiral David Farragut, encouraged Master Frederick Crocker in the steamer to capture the port.