The two most frequently asked questions of Blog Post 2 were: “I would like to know more about the groups who sponsored the statue,” and “Why is the statue in its current unsuitable location.” I believe that both of these questions are answered by the documents in the Houston Library Dick Dowling Archive. The archive contains many documents related to the Statue of Dick Dowling including meeting minutes, invitations to events, event programs and a scrapbook of the statues life. Through studding these documents we can find very clear answers to the questions we previously posed about the statue of Dick Dowling. I will address the answers found to the two questions mentioned above in two ways- the meaning in the past and the meaning now.
The first question posed was “Who put up this statue?” Through examination of the documents we find that they groups who erected the statue in 1905 were very diverse. There were Catholic organizations, Irish heritage organizations and Civil War Veteran organizations. We can see from the meeting minutes posted exactly who put money in to the statue and what groups played rolls in shaping the appearance of the statue. From the research we find that the people who erected the statue of Dowling were just Houstonians of every type. Now we must look at why the statue was refurbished and rededicated in 1997. To best understand this we must first look at who pushed and supported the refurbishment of the statue. As we can see from the statue’s rededication program. (SC1268-01-03/06) Many different groups played a roll in the Statue’s re-birth. Once again Irish societies contributes, confederate Veteran’s societies contributed, catholic societies contributed, and Houstonians contributed. The only new group to honor the statue was the Irish town of Tuam, Dowling’s birthplace. We can see Tuam’s support in the letter from the Tuam Commissioner. (SC1268-f1-17)
The second question posed was “Why such a bad Location?” I personally never believed that the location of the Dowling statue was “bad.” The statue has been in a place of importance since its original dedication. The statue rested in front of both city halls as described in the archive. (SC1268-01-03) Also we must look at why the statue was moved. As JCD2 pointed out the statue’s location in Herman Park is not “some obscure corner,” but one of the major entrances to the park. Though this entrance is not the “best” location in the park, I am sure that if we were to look at the number of people passing the statue every day we would find that the placement of the statue is comparable to its former location in front of city hall.
Lastly I would like to raise some of the questions that I had while looking through the archive. The first being why do people appreciate the statue today? Is it for their Irish heritage? For their pride in a hero? Or is it for the local connection of Dowling to Houston. Another question I had was: “What is the sentiment about Confederate heritage today.” I noticed that in many of the articles about the statue, including articles in the Catholic Harold (SC1268-f1-15) and the Houston Chronicle (SC1268-f1-13), the term “The War Against States” was used instead of Civil War. This makes me wonder about what the Civil War, or the War Between the States, means to Houstonians today.
I found your post interesting since I, too, have many of these same questions regarding Dowling’s role within the Irish community. While I do not have any definitive answers, I do think it is worth noting that, even apart from his critical role at Sabine Pass, Dowling was a very remarkable figure in Houston and Houston’s Irish community. He was a shrewd businessman with his saloon–he always made sure to offer the press free drinks to keep up his good reviews–and was always innovating and challenging himself in his work. Had he not died before the age of 30, there is little doubt Dowling would have gone on to do great things in the Houston community and, as one of the articles in the archive mentions, go on to become a Houston household name like Jesse Jones or George Brown. I think Dowling’s importance to the Irish community is also something that began when he was still living, and is very connected to the Sabine Pass battle. Dowling’s battalion of men were unique from other groups of Confederate soldiers in that they were predominately Irish. Largely due to their Irish heritage and reputations for rowdiness, they were not held in particularly high esteem by the rest of the Confederate leadership. Part of the reason they were put at Sabine Pass in the first place was because the Confederates (incorrectly) believed that this was not a strategically important location. Even when Sabine Pass was under attack, part of the military strategy was to essentially have Dowling and his men diminish Union forces as much as possible before Dowling was inevitably defeated and the Union forces marched further inland into Texas. In other words, even within the context of the Confederacy, this Irish battalion was sort of the black sheep. In my opinion, this identity would make their victory over the Union forces–and Dowling as their leader–all the more incredible. Not only did they overcome insurmountable obstacles to score a hugely important victory for the Confederacy against the Union, they also served as proof that, despite the negative stereotypes about the Irish, they were brave, capable men who could defeat Union soldiers just as well, if not better, than any other Confederate soldier. In many ways, Dowling serves as a representative for this victory and proof that the Irishmen and women of Houston were just as capable of great accomplishments as any other group, a legacy that would continue to be appealing to Houston’s Irish community today.