The Scuttlebutt on the Texas Navy

Say the words "Texas Navy"--even in a crowd of Texans--and chances are you'll get a puzzled look in response. In fact, Texas actually had two navies. Neither lasted very long, but each served its purpose, traversing the Gulf of Mexico, helping to liberate Texas from Mexico and then protecting (or trying to, anyway) the shores of the fledgling Lone Star Republic.

But first, before any of this, in the summer of 1835, there was the dramatic incident of the San Felipe, a merchant schooner headed from New Orleans to Velasco, south of Galveston. The rig's deck was outfitted with guns because Captain William Hurd had very precious cargo on board--Stephen F. Austin, fresh from a Mexican prison, and Don Lorenzo de Zavala, former personal secretary of Mexican President Santa Anna.

Not far off the harbor was the Correo Mexicano, a "rakish, low-lying, sloop-of-war," as described by C.L. Douglas in his book, Thunder of the Gulf: Story of the Texas Navy. The Correo approached the San Felipe, who then countered the revenue cutter's aggressive move with cannon and rifle fire. The San Felipe's owners, waiting on shore, recognized trouble brewing and sent out a little steamer named Laura. The Laura carried out volunteers to help protect the San Felipe, then brought Austin and Zavala back to land. The San Felipe chased the retreating Correo, joined by the returning Laura. The two overpowered the Correo and her Mexican flag came down. It was the first engagement of the Texas Revolution.

Soon after, the Texas Provisional Government decided an official navy was needed, but Provisional Governor Henry Smith and his general council had a little problem: a severe lack of funding. An alternate plan was struck. "Letters of Marque and Reprisal" were issued to private ship owners; essentially, these were government-sanctioned licenses for privateers to pirate Mexican ships.

As Douglas put it: "The lure of buccaneering has always held attraction for the venturesome, so in this Texas situation arrived many willing seamen, all anxious ... to seek a fortune under the new-made Texas flag."

Some, such as Captain Hoyt of the Thomas Toby and Captain Allen of the Terrible, baited the Mexicans, their desire fueled by the knowledge that they could lay claim to 80 percent of their take. Being of the renegade mindset, these fellows were hardly the best record keepers, If they didn't report all their triumphs, they wouldn't have to turn in a full 20 percent cut to the government. Douglas speculates that this may have been why the government eventually called back in as many Letters of Marque as possible.

In January 1836 the provisional government, using private funding, purchased a fleet of four ships: the Liberty (formerly the William Robbins), Independence, Invincible and Brutus. The Liberty managed to overpower the Mexican Pelicano, which carried "loaded" barrels of flour. Concealed inside the flour barrels were gunpowder kegs--providing food and ammunition to a military starving for both.

The first navy didn't last two years. When the Liberty was detained for repairs in New Orleans, the bill proved too costly for the Texas government, so she was auctioned off. The Independence was captured, the Invincible destroyed in battle, and the Brutus lost at sea.

The second Texas Navy formed in March 1839 with the commissioning of the Zavala, a steamship. Between June 1839 and April 1840, the navy grew to include the San Jacinto, San Antonio, San Bernard, Wharton and Austin. These ships patrolled the Gulf while the Potomac, a former merchant brig, sat permanently in Galveston's port to protect the harbor.

This new fleet--except for the anchored Potomac--had many adventures. There was the short-lived mutiny of the San Antonio, pulled off by a half-besotted crew. The drunkards were captured after killing their lieutenant, but before they reached shore in a smaller boat. Ironically, their arrest prolonged their lives because not long after, the San Antonio disappeared, never to be heard from again, rumored to have been taken by pirates, or, perhaps, to have turned into a ghost ship.

All this drama climaxed in January 1843 when the Texas Congress (under President Sam Houston) passed an act to sell the entire navy outright. The people of Galveston put up a mighty protest, blocking bids at an auction. In March, a disgusted Houston declared all his republic's navy to be pirates, and invited friendly countries to capture the Texas ships and bring them back to Galveston. Three years later, the remaining ships were transferred to the U.S. Navy, whereupon all were deemed unseaworthy.

Despite sundry mishaps, a glaring lack of financing, and the short tenure of each incarnation of the Texas Navy, there were moments when the ships and their men shone.

Douglas, defending the navies, laments, "History has dealt unfairly, and unjustly, with the Texan Navy as a result, few people to this day are aware of the misery it caused Mexico, the prime purpose for which it was sent to sea. Like the hornet, the Lone Star Navy was ever small; but, again like the hornet, it had a stinger--and it placed that stinger in every port of the Mexican seacoast from Yucatan to Matamoros."

In 1958, Texas Governor Price Daniel established the Third Texas Navy, an honorary organization. Texas governors could proclaim outstanding Texans "Admirals in the Texas Navy" and non-natives "Honorary Admirals." To qualify currently, one must be retired military or have a significant history of volunteerism. The Texas Navy (www.texasnavy.com) is headquartered in Galveston and continues to commemorate the short-lived but rollicking history of its predecessors, and nearly two dozen ships fly the honorary flag of the Third Texas Navy.

Spike Gillespie wrote about Blue Bell Creameries in the October Texas Co-op Power.

Comments about the magazine? E-mail Editor Kaye Northcott at kayen@texas-ec.org ©2004 Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc.