Texas Navy
Encyclopedia
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.
they helped win independence by preventing a Mexican blockade of the Texas
coast, seizing dozens of Mexican fishing vessels and sending their cargoes on to the Texas volunteer army.
During the Texas Revolution
, government officials in Washington-on-the-Brazos, decided to establish an official navy. In January 1836, agents purchased four schooner
s: Invincible
, Brutus, Independence
, and Liberty
.
By the October of 1837, all of the ships had been lost at sea, sunk by the Mexican Navy
, run aground, captured, or sold, and replacements were being procured.
In 1839, in response to Mexico's continued refusal to acknowledge the independence of the Republic of Texas, the Texas Congress acquired six new vessels and placed them under the command of Commodore Edwin Moore
, a lieutenant in the United States Navy, who left for the opportunity to lead the Texas Navy. The six vessels were known as the second Texas Navy.
For three years the Texas Navy raided the Mexican coast and kept the Mexican fleet focused on defending its own coastline. In the Naval Battle of Campeche
on 16 May 1843
the Texas Navy sloop-of-war Austin
and brig Wharton
, supported by ships from the rebellious Mexican State of Yucatan
(then the Republic of Yucatán
), engaged Mexican naval vessels, including the steamships Montezuma and Guadalupe. This battle is believed to be unique, marking the only occasion in which a sailing warship engaged and fought a war steamer to a draw. The battle, which raged over several days, was a tactical draw, but a strategic victory for the Texan Navy, which forced the Mexicans to lift their blockade of Campeche and assured security in the meantime for the rebels in Yucatan.
Other ships of the Texas Navy at the time included the brig
s Potomac
and Archer
, the schooner
s San Jacinto
, San Antonio
and the San Bernard
, and the Zavala
, the first steamship-of-war in North America.
When Texas joined the United States
in 1846, the Texas Navy was merged into the United States Navy
.
The Texas Navy, Inc., later the Texas Navy Association, was formed by an act of the 63rd Texas Legislature in 1973. It states that it is a non-profit organization devoted to preserving the history of the three Navies of Texas. The headquarters moved from Houston to Galveston, Texas in 1973. Membership is open to anyone who holds a commission as an Admiral in the Texas Navy from a Governor of the State of Texas.
Texas passed its first bounty act on November 24, 1835, when the general council created a regular army and promised those who served in it for two years 640 acres (2.6 km²) of land. After the revolution, the Texas government distributed the public lands, especially to veterans. In all, 9874262 acres (39,959.8 km²) was granted to veterans of the Texas army, or to Confederate soldiers in Texas. Not one of those nearly 10 million acres (40,468.6 km²) was granted for naval service, despite the importance of naval actions in the Gulf during the revolution. “The fact remains that Texas could not have won her independence and maintained it as she did, without the navy,” said Texas Navy historian Alex Dienst.
It has been said that if the United States was Texas’s biological parent, then shipping lanes from New Orleans were the umbilical cord that kept the rebellion alive during its embryonic months. Historians point out that the Texas Navy was of vital importance to the war effort with approximately three-fourths of all troops, supplies and cash originating from the ports of New Orleans. It was seen as nearly impossible for commerce to go through any other channels into Texas other than by ship due to the impractical nature of crossing Louisiana swamplands, and the “Big Thicket” of East Texas. Navy vessels protected against marauding Mexican war ships looking to cut the cord that flowed to Texas through Galveston, keeping the fledgling war effort, and eventually the Republic, alive.
Additionally, military leaders knew the importance of the Texas coast to winning a revolution, or quashing a rebellion. In fact, Mexican General Vicente Filisola remarked, “…the posts of Texas are not sustainable, whilst a maritime force does not co-operate with the operations of the land service.” On the other side, Commander James Fannin, in an August 1835 letter, wrote that provisions were scarce for the Mexican army on dry land. He requested naval assistance to the army, asking: “Where is your navy?” He pointed out that if Texas ships could block access to ports, “they [the Mexicans] are ruined.”
Despited the importance of the Texas Navy to the Texas Revolution, politics got in the way of rewarding Navy veterans with bounty land grants when President Sam Houston, against legislative support, denied land grants to navy veterans in 1842.
The battle for bounty lands was a political struggle that culminated six years after the revolution, but had roots that stretched back to 1835. Naval policy was another in a long line of differing views between Sam Houston and Mirabeau Lamar. Lamar preferred an aggressive naval policy that encouraged raids around the Gulf of Mexico to intimidate the enemy. Houston, on the other hand, preferred a more acquiescent naval policy that encouraged ships to stay close to shore, protecting ports for industry and commerce.
These disagreements led to inconsistent policies during the Republic era, as Lamar and Houston traded the presidency back and forth. Robert Potter, a Senator, and the one time Secretary of the Navy, and Senator James Webb proposed a resolution that would allow bounty land to be granted to navy veterans on November 4, 1841. It was noted in the November 18, 1841 edition of the San Augustine Red-Lander that this “Resolution will meet with much opposition in both Houses, and a warm discussion is expected.” After the resolution was passed, it was presented to President Sam Houston, who vetoed the bill on January 6, of 1842.
In Houston's veto message, the President paid tribute to the “exalted Gallantry and distinguished bravery” of the men who went to sea on behalf of the Republic, but he would “not sanction injudicious and unnecessary extravagance” on their behalf. Houston went on to say, “Generally, the seaman has no interest (except a transitory one) on shore.” He explained that a person who made their living at sea would pay no attention to improving land granted to them. He believed that to give a land grant to a navy veteran would not benefit the country to any degree, explaining that, “The harpies that are generally found in sea-ports, and to whom seamen usually become indebted, are those only who would profit by the bounty and munificence of the Government.”
Houston further explained that it was traditional that the sailor receives his pay, and also receives prize money for capturing enemy vessels. “The sailor has his bounty and prize money as incentives to enlistment and continuance in the service; none expect more,” he said. “If moreover, a fleet be in the vicinity of a land army, its co-operation is always supposed, and it accordingly participates in the spoils of victory. If, on the other hand, the victory be achieved by the fleet, the reverse is the case; the Naval corps alone enjoy the entire reward of success.”
Houston also claimed that “the sailors who would have claims are either dead or scattered to the winds of heaven.” However, army veterans and their heirs were eligible to receive bounty land whether they lived or died. Houston continued, “If bounty land were granted, the few who survived would deem it valueless, because not one of them would be willing to penetrate the wilderness in quest of a place to locate it, some hundreds of miles beyond the frontiers; and rather than make the attempt, they would be willing to sell it for a trifle.”
Infuriated by the complete disdain that the “Navy hating” President of the Republic had shown, Robert Potter, re-introduced a joint resolution on January 25, 1842 that would hopefully pass over the President’s veto, authorizing the Secretary of War and Navy to issue certificates of bounty land to the officers, seamen, and marines of the Navy. Despite Potter’s reputation as a good steward of public land and his continual support of the navy, his arguments fell upon deaf ears as he continued to push the issue, to no success. The issue was tabled as President Houston ran out the clock on the bounty land for navy veterans’ bill, and the issue would never be broached again.
The results of the policy, and the testimony of those brave men who would have benefitted from the program, can be found in the archival collection of the Texas General Land Office. or through Save Texas History.
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...
. 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.
First Texas Navy
Under the command of Commodore Charles Edward HawkinsCharles Edward Hawkins
Charles Edward Hawkins was the Commander of the First Texas Navy during the Texan Revolution.-Early life:Hawkins was born in 1802 in New York and he joined the United States Navy as a Midshipman.-Career in the U.S. Navy:...
they helped win independence by preventing a Mexican blockade of 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...
coast, seizing dozens of Mexican fishing vessels and sending their cargoes on to the Texas volunteer army.
During 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...
, government officials in Washington-on-the-Brazos, decided to establish an official navy. In January 1836, agents purchased 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: 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...
, Brutus, Independence
Texan schooner Independence
The Texan schooner Independence was one of the four schooners of the First Texas Navy . In 1836, Charles Hawkins, a veteran of the United States and Mexican navies, visited Texas Governor Henry Smith, seeking a commission in the new Texas Navy...
, and Liberty
Texan schooner Liberty
The Texas schooner Liberty was one of the four schooners of the First Texas Navy . She served in the Texas Navy for only about 6 months, capturing the Mexican brig Pelicano loaded with weapons for their army in Texas. Later that year, she sailed to New Orleans accompanying the wounded Sam Houston,...
.
By the October of 1837, all of the ships had been lost at sea, sunk by the Mexican Navy
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...
, run aground, captured, or sold, and replacements were being procured.
Second Texas Navy
Edwin Ward Moore
Edwin Ward Moore , was the commodore of the Second Navy for the Republic of Texas.-Early life:...
, a lieutenant in the United States Navy, who left for the opportunity to lead the Texas Navy. The six vessels were known as the second Texas Navy.
For three years the Texas Navy raided the Mexican coast and kept the Mexican fleet focused on defending its own coastline. In the Naval Battle of Campeche
Naval Battle of Campeche
The Naval Battle of Campeche took place on April 30, 1843 and May 16, 1843. The battle featured the most advanced warships of its day, including the Mexican steamer Guadalupe and the equally formidable Moctezuma which engaged a squadron of vessels from the Republic of Yucatan and the Republic of...
on 16 May 1843
the Texas Navy sloop-of-war Austin
Texan sloop-of-war Austin
The Texan sloop-of-war Austin was the flagship of the Second Texas Navy from 1840-1846. Commanded by Commodore Edwin Ward Moore, she led a flotilla in the capture of Villahermosa in 1840. After a period of inaction in port, Austin participated in the Naval Battle of Campeche in 1843...
and brig Wharton
Texan brig Wharton
The Texan brig Wharton was a two-masted brig of the Second Texas Navy from 1839-1846. She was the sister ship of the Archer. Accompanying the Texas flagship, Austin, she defeated a larger force of Mexican Navy steamships in the Naval Battle of Campeche in May 1843...
, supported by ships from the rebellious Mexican State of Yucatan
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
(then the Republic of Yucatán
Republic of Yucatán
The Republic of Yucatan was a nineteenth century sovereign state during two periods of the century. The first Republic of Yucatan, founded May 29, 1823, joined the Mexican federation as the Federated Republic of Yucatán on December 23, 1823, less than seven months later...
), engaged Mexican naval vessels, including the steamships Montezuma and Guadalupe. This battle is believed to be unique, marking the only occasion in which a sailing warship engaged and fought a war steamer to a draw. The battle, which raged over several days, was a tactical draw, but a strategic victory for the Texan Navy, which forced the Mexicans to lift their blockade of Campeche and assured security in the meantime for the rebels in Yucatan.
Other ships of the Texas Navy at the time included the brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
s Potomac
Texan brig Potomac
The Texan brig Potomac was a ship of the Second Texas Navy that never sailed as a warship. For a while, in 1838, she was the only ship in the Texas Navy. She was decommissioned in 1843.-Background of the Texas Navy:...
and Archer
Texan brig Archer
The Texan brig Archer was a two-masted brig of the Second Texas Navy from 1842-1846. She was the sister ship of the Wharton. Transferred to the United States Navy in 1846, she was sold for $450.-History of the Archer:...
, the 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 San Jacinto
Texan schooner San Jacinto
The Texan schooner San Jacinto was a two-masted schooner of the Second Texas Navy from 1839-1840. She was the sister ship of the San Antonio and the San Bernard. In 1840, San Jacinto was part of the Texas Navy flotilla led by Commodore Edwin Ward Moore which was dispatched to assist Yucatecan...
, San Antonio
Texan schooner San Antonio
The Texan schooner San Antonio was a two-masted schooner of the Second Texas Navy from 1839-1840. She was the sister ship of the San Jacinto and the San Bernard. In 1840, San Antonio was part of the Texas Navy flotilla led by Commodore Edwin Ward Moore which was dispatched to assist Yucatecan...
and the San Bernard
Texan schooner San Bernard
The Texan schooner San Bernard was a two-masted schooner of the Second Texas Navy from 1839-1840. She was the sister ship of the San Jacinto and the San Antonio. In 1840, San Antonio was part of the Texas Navy flotilla led by Commodore Edwin Ward Moore which was dispatched to assist Yucatecan...
, and the Zavala
Texan schooner Zavala
The Texan steamship Zavala was a Texas Navy ship in Texas' second Navy after the Texas Revolution. She was the first steamship-of-war in the Texas Navy.-Background of the Texas Navy:...
, the first steamship-of-war in North America.
When Texas joined the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1846, the Texas Navy was merged into the United States Navy
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...
.
Third Texas Navy
In 1958 Governor Price Daniels formed a “Third and Honorary” Texas Navy with headquarters in Houston. They held Annual Admiral Balls at the Houston Yacht Club and the Governor would review the fleet each year at the San Jacinto monument. The fleet consisted of every conceivable type of vessel from luxury cruisers to canoes. Officers were selected on their merits and commissioned by the Governor as Admirals in the Texas Navy. Later, the grades of Commander and Lieutenant were added. This organization was intended to be a support agency for the State of Texas in its defense.The Texas Navy, Inc., later the Texas Navy Association, was formed by an act of the 63rd Texas Legislature in 1973. It states that it is a non-profit organization devoted to preserving the history of the three Navies of Texas. The headquarters moved from Houston to Galveston, Texas in 1973. Membership is open to anyone who holds a commission as an Admiral in the Texas Navy from a Governor of the State of Texas.
The Denial of Land Grants for Veterans of the Texas Navy
Land promised in advance of military service is called a bounty, which is a military tradition dating back beyond the Roman Empire, and was a well established tradition in American military history prior to hostilities in Texas during the revolution. The founders of the Republic of Texas attempted to bolster recruitment into the armed forces through the generous inducement of land for military service. Strangely, the policy in Texas was inconsistent, as not all Texas veterans were treated equal. Veterans of the Texas Navy, due to political rivalries were excluded from taking part in the generous land-granting policies, or “unnecessary extravagance,” as it was explained by President Sam Houston at the time of his veto.Texas passed its first bounty act on November 24, 1835, when the general council created a regular army and promised those who served in it for two years 640 acres (2.6 km²) of land. After the revolution, the Texas government distributed the public lands, especially to veterans. In all, 9874262 acres (39,959.8 km²) was granted to veterans of the Texas army, or to Confederate soldiers in Texas. Not one of those nearly 10 million acres (40,468.6 km²) was granted for naval service, despite the importance of naval actions in the Gulf during the revolution. “The fact remains that Texas could not have won her independence and maintained it as she did, without the navy,” said Texas Navy historian Alex Dienst.
It has been said that if the United States was Texas’s biological parent, then shipping lanes from New Orleans were the umbilical cord that kept the rebellion alive during its embryonic months. Historians point out that the Texas Navy was of vital importance to the war effort with approximately three-fourths of all troops, supplies and cash originating from the ports of New Orleans. It was seen as nearly impossible for commerce to go through any other channels into Texas other than by ship due to the impractical nature of crossing Louisiana swamplands, and the “Big Thicket” of East Texas. Navy vessels protected against marauding Mexican war ships looking to cut the cord that flowed to Texas through Galveston, keeping the fledgling war effort, and eventually the Republic, alive.
Additionally, military leaders knew the importance of the Texas coast to winning a revolution, or quashing a rebellion. In fact, Mexican General Vicente Filisola remarked, “…the posts of Texas are not sustainable, whilst a maritime force does not co-operate with the operations of the land service.” On the other side, Commander James Fannin, in an August 1835 letter, wrote that provisions were scarce for the Mexican army on dry land. He requested naval assistance to the army, asking: “Where is your navy?” He pointed out that if Texas ships could block access to ports, “they [the Mexicans] are ruined.”
Despited the importance of the Texas Navy to the Texas Revolution, politics got in the way of rewarding Navy veterans with bounty land grants when President Sam Houston, against legislative support, denied land grants to navy veterans in 1842.
The battle for bounty lands was a political struggle that culminated six years after the revolution, but had roots that stretched back to 1835. Naval policy was another in a long line of differing views between Sam Houston and Mirabeau Lamar. Lamar preferred an aggressive naval policy that encouraged raids around the Gulf of Mexico to intimidate the enemy. Houston, on the other hand, preferred a more acquiescent naval policy that encouraged ships to stay close to shore, protecting ports for industry and commerce.
These disagreements led to inconsistent policies during the Republic era, as Lamar and Houston traded the presidency back and forth. Robert Potter, a Senator, and the one time Secretary of the Navy, and Senator James Webb proposed a resolution that would allow bounty land to be granted to navy veterans on November 4, 1841. It was noted in the November 18, 1841 edition of the San Augustine Red-Lander that this “Resolution will meet with much opposition in both Houses, and a warm discussion is expected.” After the resolution was passed, it was presented to President Sam Houston, who vetoed the bill on January 6, of 1842.
In Houston's veto message, the President paid tribute to the “exalted Gallantry and distinguished bravery” of the men who went to sea on behalf of the Republic, but he would “not sanction injudicious and unnecessary extravagance” on their behalf. Houston went on to say, “Generally, the seaman has no interest (except a transitory one) on shore.” He explained that a person who made their living at sea would pay no attention to improving land granted to them. He believed that to give a land grant to a navy veteran would not benefit the country to any degree, explaining that, “The harpies that are generally found in sea-ports, and to whom seamen usually become indebted, are those only who would profit by the bounty and munificence of the Government.”
Houston further explained that it was traditional that the sailor receives his pay, and also receives prize money for capturing enemy vessels. “The sailor has his bounty and prize money as incentives to enlistment and continuance in the service; none expect more,” he said. “If moreover, a fleet be in the vicinity of a land army, its co-operation is always supposed, and it accordingly participates in the spoils of victory. If, on the other hand, the victory be achieved by the fleet, the reverse is the case; the Naval corps alone enjoy the entire reward of success.”
Houston also claimed that “the sailors who would have claims are either dead or scattered to the winds of heaven.” However, army veterans and their heirs were eligible to receive bounty land whether they lived or died. Houston continued, “If bounty land were granted, the few who survived would deem it valueless, because not one of them would be willing to penetrate the wilderness in quest of a place to locate it, some hundreds of miles beyond the frontiers; and rather than make the attempt, they would be willing to sell it for a trifle.”
Infuriated by the complete disdain that the “Navy hating” President of the Republic had shown, Robert Potter, re-introduced a joint resolution on January 25, 1842 that would hopefully pass over the President’s veto, authorizing the Secretary of War and Navy to issue certificates of bounty land to the officers, seamen, and marines of the Navy. Despite Potter’s reputation as a good steward of public land and his continual support of the navy, his arguments fell upon deaf ears as he continued to push the issue, to no success. The issue was tabled as President Houston ran out the clock on the bounty land for navy veterans’ bill, and the issue would never be broached again.
The results of the policy, and the testimony of those brave men who would have benefitted from the program, can be found in the archival collection of the Texas General Land Office. or through Save Texas History.