Four campaigns or battles come to mind: (1) Galveston, (2) Sabine Pass, (3) Mansfield, and (4) the Rio Grande campaign of John Salmon R.I.P. Ford.
Galveston. The Feds took Galveston but were then thrown out on their ear in a few months by land troops and sharpshooters on two cotton-clad bayou steamers going against ships of the US Navy. One cotton-clad grounded, but the sharpshooter on board were effective against sailors on the deck of the Union ship Harriet Lane, the ship that had fired the first naval shot of the war at Charleston in 1861. The other cotton-clad rammed the Harriet Lane and tilted her over. The other federal ships were either scuttled or fled under a flag of truce leaving the Federal land forces to be captured.
Sabine Pass. The Feds next decided to invade Texas through Sabine Pass (on the border with Louisiana) rather than through Galveston. Here is a monument that commemorates that battle:
![](http://i50.tinypic.com/2ceuli.jpg")
I'll correct the details on the monument. The initial Federal invasion force was 5,000 men. Ten thousand more were to come later when the beachhead was established. Four Federal gunboats led the invasion up the shallow pass and were tasked with shelling the mud fort, which they did for an hour and a half, and landing a force of troops to take the fort. Twenty-two transport ships (one source says 18) carrying the Federal invasion force followed behind the four gunboats. Apparently the Federal gunboats expected the Confederates to withdraw from the fort because of the bombardment, but Dowling and his 42 men did not leave, but held their fire.
The four gunboats then moved in closer. The Feds noticed some sticks sticking out of the water in the Pass but kept on coming toward the fort. Those sticks were used for cannon target practice by the men of the fort. When the first two Federal ships reached the sticks they were promptly hit with shells from the fort which disabled the ships' boilers. One hundred Federals were killed or wounded. Dowling did not lose a man. Three hundred fifty Federals from the damaged gunboats surrendered to Dowling when the rest of the ships turned tail and headed back to New Orleans.
Federal Admiral Farragut, who had helped plan the Federal invasion, called the battle of Sabine Pass the most shameful incident in the history of the US Navy.
Mansfield. The Federals sent a force of 25,000 up the Red River with the objective of capturing the Louisiana wartime capital at Shreveport and returning Texas to the Union. The Federal invasion was stopped by 11,000 Texas and Confederate troops at Mansfield, Louisiana. The Feds retreated to the Mississippi River.
Rio Grande. Finally, the Feds invaded Texas from the sea along the Rio Grande Valley. Its main objective was to stop Confederate cotton trade through Mexico and stop supplies (guns, etc.) coming into Texas from Mexico. The Federal force was 6,000 strong. One part of them reached Laredo where they were defeated by Texas Hispanics under Colonel Santos Benavides.
Texas formed the 1,500 man "Cavalry of the West" under old Texas Ranger captain John S. R.I.P. Ford to clear the Rio Grande Valley. His 1,500 men drove the Federals back down the Rio Grande to an island off the Texas coast. Ford defeated the Feds in the last land battle of the war in May 1865 at Palmetto Ranch (also called Palmito Ranch).
Sources. My sources included but were not limited to:
Lone Star by T. R. Fehrenbach
Battle on the Bay, the Civil War Struggle for Galveston by Edward T. Cotham, Jr.
The Last Battle of the Civil War by Jeffrey William Hunt.