For the 1862 battle see Battle of Galveston Harbor (1862).

The Battle of Galveston Harbor, or the Battle of Galveston Bay was a naval engagement between the Republic of Texas

Republic of Texas

The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...

 and Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 in Galveston Harbor

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

 on August 26, 1837. After the end of the Texas Revolution

Texas Revolution

The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...

 in 1836, Mexico and the newly-declared Republic of Texas sporadically fought at sea. Texas, hoping to gain independence and Mexico, hoping to reassert control over Texas.

Battle

On August 26, 1837, Texas Navy ship Invincible

Texan schooner Invincible

The Texas schooner Invincible was one of the four schooners of the First Texas Navy . She began her service in January, 1836 and immediately began attacking ships supplying the Mexican army in Texas, including capturing the United States merchant vessel Pocket and later the British ship Eliza...

, commanded by Commodore

Commodore (rank)

Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...

 Thompson, escorted Brutus into Galveston harbor. Brutus had a Mexican prize vessel, Obispo, in tow. Invincible anchored in the channel

Channel (geography)

In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...

 overnight and the next day she was assailed by Vencedor del Alamo and Libertador. Brutus cleared for action and attempted to assist Invincible but she ran aground on a sandbar at the entrance to the harbor. Invincible was left alone to engage the two Mexican warships. The two Mexican craft attempted to board the Texan vessel several times but were forced to break off their close-quarters actions because of Invincibles maneuverability. After a prolonged engagement, the Invincible attempted to flee

Flee

Flee is an album by British blues rock musician Jeremy Spencer, who was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1967–71, and "The Jeremy Spencer Band" , with particularly strong input from Michael Fogarty...

 from the battle, but due to the shallow tide, she snagged her rudder on the harbor bar and ran aground. Invincible was then quickly pounded to pieces by the breakers until her hull completely disappeared.

Aftermath

With the wreck of the schooners Invincible and Brutus, the First Texas Navy was at an end. The Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 government then began to procure new vessels for a second Texas Navy

Texas Navy

The Texas Navy was the official navy of the Republic of Texas. Two Texas Navies were naval fighting forces. There is a “Third and Honorary” Texas Navy, in which officers are commissioned by the Governor of Texas as Admirals, Commanders and Lieutenants....

. The wreck site of one of the participating ships may have been discovered in 1995 by the National Undersea Marine Agency.