Looking through the Houston Public Library Digital Archives, it becomes apparent that the historical figure of Dick Dowling has meant different things to different people at different periods of time. Dick Dowling was a Confederate soldier, an Irishman, and a Civic Leader in Houston. However, which aspects of his life and memory are emphasized depends on who is doing the memorializing and what the purpose of the memorializing is. I focused on the recent portrayal of Dowling in the media because, although he is still clearly regarded as a Houston “hero”, very few people still consider the Southern rebellion to have been heroic. In order to maintain Dowling’s hero status in Houston, it seems that his identity as an Irishman and civic leader has become the emphasis when memorializing him. Attention that is given to his military service in the past few decades seems to have a more neutral tone rather than being a celebration of his service or military heroics because that is no longer socially acceptable.
This can be seen in a 1989 Houston Chronicle article about Dowling’s mark on the city that focuses primarily on Dowling’s military service (RGA33-b2f27-35). The article is about Dowling’s prominance, but the article is not inherently positive. It is simply a reflection about Dowling’s influence in Houston. It makes no claim that Dowling was fighting for any sort of great cause and it does not explicitly proclaim him as a hero. Rather, the article’s reason for memorializing Dowling seems to be to inform the public about who he was and why he influenced Houston. There is no attempt by the article to celebrate Dowling’s actions at Sabine Pass. It is simply pointed out that they were quite notable at the time and influenced Houston.
During the rededication of the Dowling statue in 1997, the focus was on Dowling’s Irish history and civic contributions to Houston. His heroics at the Battle of Sabine Pass are mentioned in a press release about the rededication, but the ceremony is described as a “celebration of Irish heritage” and occurred on St. Patrick’s Day. It was also hosted by the Dick Dowling Irish Heritage Society and the keynote speaker was a historian from Tuam County, Ireland (RGA33-b2f27-21). The lack of emphasis given to Dowling’s Confederate ties is probably because the event was clearly meant to celebrate Dowling’s life. By 1997, any celebration of the Confederate cause would have been controversial. This is evidenced by an article from a few months later, when an African-American historian protested the streets named after Dowling because he fought for the Confederacy (RGA33-b2f27-44). This article focuses on Dowling’s military service and it certainly does not portray Dowling as heroic. The only appropriate way to celebrate Dowling and his influence on Houston was to focus on the non-controversial aspects of his life. If his Confederate service has been a major focus, the rededication event could not have been completely celebratory and positive.
Dick Dowling has been considered a Houstonian hero for generations. However, as time has passed, public opinion about what is heroic and what isn’t has shifted. Rather than revoking Dowling’s hero status as fervor for the Confederate cause has faded, the Digital Archives show that different aspects of Dowling’s life have been emphasized instead. His military service in recent years has been presented neutrally while his status as a prominent Irishman and civic leader in Houston has been brought to the forefront. This allows people to continue celebrating Dowling as a hero without having to also celebrate the Confederate cause.