Free State of Galveston polls in 2008 and 2010 indicate this sentiment may be changing. Indeed gambling aboard cruise ships leaving from Galveston is now commonplace. Though this era in Galveston's history has not received a great deal of attention in popular culture (compared, for example, to Al Capone's Chicago), there has been some popular fiction and true crime story-telling centered on the era. Some notable examples include the novels "Under the Skin" by James Carlos Blake, "No Greater Deception: A True Texas Story" by Sydney Dotson, "Galveston" by Suzanne Morris, and "Overlords" by Matt Braun, as well as the anthology "Lone Star Sleuths:
Battle of Galveston to destroy the grounded "Westfield" with explosives rather than let it fall into enemy hands. Renshaw and several Union troops were subsequently killed when the explosives were set off too early. Union troops on shore were convinced that their own ships were surrendering and, therefore, laid down their arms. The remaining U.S. ships did not surrender and succeeded in retreating to Union-controlled New Orleans. The Union blockade around the city of Galveston was lifted temporarily for four days, and Galveston remained the only major port that remained in Confederate hands at the end of the war. The Confederate Congress stated