Heritage, Fall 2004 Page: 10
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already poised for a fight. Mexico dispatched
two vessels to defend the Texas
coast, Veracruzana and Bravo (formerly
Moctezuma). On November 25, 1835, the
General Council of Texas initiated its own
naval policy, authorizing the purchase of
four ships to act as a Texan fleet and issuing
letters of marque and reprisal to privateers.
Commercial ships also armed themselves
for battle.
In January 1836 Captain Charles
Edward Hawkins, an experienced military
seaman, began patrolling the coast in the
Texas Navy ship Independence (formerly
the United States revenue cutter Ingham.)
At roughly the same time, the former privateer
William Robbins (re-christened
Liberty) also took to the sea as a member of
the incipient Texas Navy. The Texan captains
proved to be able seamen, capturing
and destroying a number of vessels carrying
Mexican contraband. They were also
successful in keeping vital supply lines
open between Texas and New Orleans. By
the spring of 1836 it was apparent that the
Texans' naval strategy was working.
Although the Alamo and Goliad garrisonshad fallen, and General Sam Houston's
army was in retreat, the Texans were winning
the war at sea.
In March 1836 Hawkins was promoted
to the rank of commodore of the
Texas Navy, a fleet that now included two
additional ships, Invincible and Brutus.
General Houston's victory over the forces
of Mexican General Antonio L6pez de
Santa Anna at San Jacinto on April 21 did
not bring an end to the war on the part of
the Texas Navy. It became the navy's task
to preserve coastal security. Immediately,
however, the navy's future came into question.
Maintaining a fleet, even a modest
one, was an expensive proposition. Liberty
was sold off at New Orleans in July 1836
for non-payment of repair bills. Brutus and
Invincible were nearly lost in a like manner
while in New York for a refit in September.
The death of Commodore Hawkins from
smallpox while in New Orleans for refit in
February 1837 put the navy into disarray.
Further, the presence of a standing navy
became a matter of internal Texas politics
following the ascendancy of Sam Houston
to the presidency of the newly minted
Republic. From the outset, Houston was
hostile to the notion of a far-ranging naval
fleet. By mid-1837 the first Texas Navy
was no more. The Liberty had been sold,
the Mexican fleet captured Independence
after the death of Hawkins, Invincible was
sunk in battle, and Brutus was lost at sea.
Between September 1837 and March 1839
Texas had no ships in service save the brig
Potomac, the receiving ship at the
Galveston navy base.
Despite legislation in October and
November 1836 designed to acquire additional
ships for the fleet, it was not until
the passage of the November 4, 1837,
naval appropriations bill that binding
action was taken. Samuel May Williams
was authorized to contract the construction
of six new ships at a cost of $280,000.
Frederick Dawson, of Baltimore, took the
contract to build the ships that would
make up the core of the second Texas
Navy. In addition to the Dawson contract,
an additional ship, the steam packetCharleston, re-christened Zavala, was also
acquired. By April 1840 the new Texas
Navy was complete and in port at
Galveston. In addition to Zavala this fresh
fleet consisted of the 170-ton schooners
San Jacinto, San Antonio, and San Bernard,
the 400-ton brigs Wharton and Archer, and
the 600-ton sloop-of-war Austin, the
navy's flagship.
President Mirabeau B. Lamar
recruited a 29-year old Virginian, Edwin
Ward Moore, to serve as commodore of
the fleet. Moore, a lieutenant in the
United States Navy, used his last months
of federal service as a means of recruiting
seamen and officers for the Texas Navy.
This action, although effective, was illegal,
proving to be a harbinger of Moore's
style as commodore.
Moofe resigned from the U.S. Navy
on July 8, 1839, arriving in Galveston on
October 4. He went to work immediately,
even without his full component of
ships in port. In June 1840 Moore was
able to put the fleet to sea, sailing as the
maritime defender of the Republic of
Texas.
Texas was remarkably lucky during
its years without a navy. In spite of the victory
at San Jacinto and the subsequent
Treaty of Velasco, Mexico remained reticent
about giving up its designs on Texas.
The panic of 1837, the revolts in northern
Mexico, and the loss of much of the
Mexican fleet at Veracruz to the French
were all obstacles to launching a maritime
offensive against Texas. However, by the
time Moore put to sea, conditions were
changing. As negotiations for recognition
between Texas and Mexico collapsed,
Commodore Moore was ordered to open
relations with the rebellious state of
Yucatan. Ultimately Yucatan agreed to
hire the services of the Texas Navy for
$8,000 per month.
On December 13, 1841, Moore, in
the flagship Austin, accompanied by San
Bernard and San Antonio, set sail for
Yucatan under orders from President
Lamar. Sam Houston, who succeeded
Lamar the very day Moore sailed, immediHERITAGE FALL 2004
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Fall 2004, periodical, Autumn 2004; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45375/m1/10/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.