The Texas Navy

A Cactus Navy? Everyone has heard of the USS Constitution and the USS Constellation. They were the first two ships commissioned into the United States Navy. But have you ever heard of the Liberty and the Invincible? They were the first two ships commissioned into the Navy of the Republic of Texas. Between 1835 and 1845 the Republic of Texas had their own fleet. In between court martialing each other, suppressing mutinies, legalizing piracy and getting stone drunk in New Orleans—they actually found the time to beat the British and Spanish- trained Mexican navy. In 1906, Alex Dienst made an exhaustive study of the Texas Navy. Using original source documents and newspaper accounts of the day—now, in many cases, long lost—he put together this intriguing book. It's a little known story of chaos and confusion, mixed with unparalleled heroism; and it deserves to be told again.

For more than a century and a half Texans have honored the heroes of the Texas fight for independence. But the courageous seamen of the Texas navy have been all but forgotten. The fought the fury of the Gulf storms and braved the guns of a powerful fleet for more than a decade, all the while reviled as outlaws by their president, Sam Houston. But against all odds they triumphed. They dominated the third coast of North America, the Gulf of Mexico, from New Orleans to the Yucatan. Their control of these waters was critical to the very existence of the struggling republic. This is the heroic story of those seaborne Texans who were often outnumbered, usually outgunned, but never outsailed and never, ever outfought.

Most Texans don't know that the Texas Revolution began and ended with naval battles. They don't know that, though small, the Texas Navy was the most advanced in the world in 1839. Many also don't know that Texas had a first rate uniformed Navy, Marine Corp, and Coast guards. This book will enlighten both the average Texan wanting to know more about an important part of Texas history, and many who have read other books on the subject. It also delineates the intense dislike Sam Houston had for the Texas Navy and especially its Commodore, Edwin Ward Moore, whom he saw as a rival for attention Originally intended to be notes for a historic novel, the author soon realized they were more valuable as both a data source for researchers and also an exciting true narrative of the exploits of the Texas Navy. As such, it is written and arranged for two distinct audiences, the lay reader and the researcher. It corrects some of the errors and discrepancies between other books and presents new data from primary sources in the Zavala Museum behind the Capitol Building in Austin.

Most of the early settlers came by way of the sea, embarking at Mobile and New Orleans. Because of their innocence, or because of a certain love of independence, they entered through whatever ports on the Gulf seemed most expedient. The ports of entry which Mexico attempted to establish for the collection of customs duties were an early cause of friction which contributed to the Texas Revolution. And during the Revolution, the tiny Texas Navy, built around three sloops of war under Commodore Hawkins, was able to establish control of the Gulf of Mexico. These ships were the Independence, the Invincible, and the Brutus. With them Hawkins controlled the sea approaches to Texas, blocked reinforcements to Santa Anna, and contributed in large part to the many difficulties which beset the Mexican Army in its long overland march to the Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto Battles of 1836. So it was that Texas established a Naval tradition to stand alongside the brilliant military record achieved on land. - Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

The little known naval force that helped Texas gain independence from Mexico