Fifty men with motor boats and skiffs were dispatched on a special Kansas City Southern Railway train to assist in rescue operations in Port Arthur. Following the storm, Texas City was placed under martial law, accompanied by 4,400 soldiers either stationed or taking refuge in the city. Major General J. Franklin Bell issued rations for soldiers and civilians. Bell also requested clothing for soldiers of the Second Division of the U.S. Army stationed there after their camp was destroyed; ultimately, U.S. Secretary of War Lindley Miller Garrison decided not to rebuild the camp, resulting in the division's relocation. In order to prevent the spread of disease, over a hundred animal carcasses were burned in Texas City.