The Texan schooner Independence was one of the four schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

s of the First 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....

 (1836–1838). In 1836, Charles Hawkins

Charles Hawkins

Charles Hawkins was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1838 to 1845....

, a veteran of the United States

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 and Mexican

Mexican Navy

The Mexican Navy is the naval branch of the Mexican military responsible for conducting naval operations. Its stated mission is "to use the naval force of the federation for the exterior defense, and to help with internal order". The Navy consists of about 56,000 men and women plus reserves, over...

 navies, visited Texas Governor Henry Smith

Henry Smith (Texas Governor)

Henry Smith was first American-born Governor of the Mexican territory of Texas and briefly presided over the revolution there.-Early life:...

, seeking a commission in the new Texas Navy. Smith was impressed with his credentials and sent him to New Orleans, where he was given the task of acquiring the United States Revenue

United States Revenue Cutter Service

The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in 1790 as an armed maritime law enforcement service. Throughout its entire existence the Revenue Cutter Service operated under the authority of the United States Department of the Treasury...

 cutter Ingham

USRC Ingham (1832)

The United States Revenue Cutter Ingham was one of the 13 Coast Guard cutters of the Morris-Taney class. Named for Secretary of the Treasury Samuel D...

 for the Texas Navy, which he did in early January, 1836, for $1,710.

After the Texas victory at the Battle of San Jacinto

Battle of San Jacinto

The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen...

 in April, 1836, Independence carried the Texas President and his captive, General Santa Anna, to Velasco

Velasco, Texas

Velasco was a town in Texas, United States, that was later annexed by the city of Freeport. Founded in 1831, Velasco is situated on the east side of the Brazos River in southeast Texas. It is sixteen miles south of Angleton, Texas, and four miles from the Gulf of Mexico.The town's early history is...

, where the Treaty of Velasco was negotiated and signed.

While being refitted in New Orleans in early 1837, her skipper died and a new Captain was appointed.