Texas Navy Essay Research Paper The Contributions — страница 2

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heart of the Texan territory (6.) During this time, Texas began the building of its own Navy. By the authorization of the provisional general council the Texas Navy was to be made up of four schooners. The first ship to be commissioned was the former United States treasury cutter Ingham, and was rechristened Independence. The second ship was twice as large as the Independence and was commissioned as the Brutus. Another ship that joined the Navy was the William Robbins but was renamed the Liberty. A fourth warship named the Invincible was commissioned as a member of the fleet. These four vessels made up the early fleet of the Texas Navy and were crucial elements of the Republic in preserving their independence (6.) The first action seen by the new fleet was when the Liberty was on

a semipiratical cruise to the Yucatan and encountered the Mexican merchant schooner Pelican and captured her. The vessel laid a prize concealed within its cargo of 300 kegs of powder and other military supplies. The ship was ran aground at Matagorda, but the cargo was salvaged and later used to defeat President Lopez de Santa Anna and his forces in the San Jacinto campaign. Later, the Liberty captured an American brig Durango that was loaded with powder and supplies and was falsely manifested. The cargo was appropriated and the vessel was destroyed. At the same time, the Invincible seized an American brig Pocket that contained contraband materials while under a false manifest to the Mexican Army near the Rio Grande. The charter on the vessel also stated that a secondary shipment

of Mexican troops was to be taken to the Corpus Christi area. Sometime after Pocket was purchased by the Republic of Texas and the vessel was commissioned in the Texas Navy as the cargo helped defeat the Mexicans (7.) The naval victories were a much needed source of strength that would help combat the Mexican Army that were driving right into Texas uncontested, because Santa Anna was moving his forces along the coast in efforts to use the sea lanes to provide his army with logistic support. The activity of the small Texas Navy kept Santa Anna waiting on his needed supplies that never would arrive and a way of escape in sea vessels that could not arrive with the Texas Navy fending them off. General Sam Houston saw the advantage that may not come again and moved in on the President

and penned the Mexican forces against the Buffalo Bayou and destroyed them while capturing Santa Anna himself. The activity of the small Texas Navy proved to be the difference between victory and defeat for the outnumbered Republic forces (9.) After the surrender of the Mexican forces the “little mighty fleet (8)” continued its operations along the Texas coast. Although Liberty was unable to meet her refitting bills and was sold to satisfy her creditors-an event which illustrated the shoestring budget under which the Texas Navy was forced to work despite the demands it was expected to achieve. The final three vessels began a blockade of Matamoros near the mouth of the Rio Grande to interfere with any attempts by the Mexican Army to return to Texas (10.) Sometime later, the

Secretary of the Texas Navy commanded the Brutus and the Invincible to sea to confront any Mexican vessels they encounter and regain power in the Gulf. The smaller fleet claimed the Mujeres Islands off the coast of Yucatan and stocked up on an abundant supply of turtles without paying for the cargo. Then in the Gulf the Texas Navy captured five small Mexican vessels: Union, Telegrafo, Adventure, Rafaelita, and Correo de Tabasco. Sailing some of the Mexican vessels containing prized crews and burning the ones that did not, the fleet headed back for the Texas coast. There the lasting two vessels of the Texas Navy were destroyed in an unfortunate battle with two large-gunned Mexican vessels, the Iturbide and Libertador, near the Channel of Galveston Island. The two Texas vessels

were attacked while the Invincible was anchored offshore waiting for high tide and Brutus entering the Channel. The Invincible ran aground in the poorly chartered channel into Galveston and Brutus beached inside the harbor while trying to aid her sister ship. The vessels were later broken up by heavy storms and thus ended the last two ships of the early Texas Navy (11.) Without any naval forces to defend the Republic, Texas was saved by two circumstances beyond her control. The internal trouble in Mexico grew and required a concentration of security forces near home and less efforts to retake the Republic. Also, the Pastry War between France and Mexico caused Mexico to lose most all her warships to the stronger naval power of France which made Texas and Mexico on the same terms