The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 12, July 1908 - April, 1909 Page: 279
332 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Case of the Brig Pocket.
September, 1835, he attacked the schooner San Felipe, a vessel
owned by citizens of the United States, but was himself captured
by the San Felipe and carried to New Orleans to answer to the
charge of piracy. With him at the time of the capture was a
lieutenant of the .Mexican army, Don Carlos Ocampo.1 They were
released on January 15, 1836, but Thompson was immediately re-
arrested by his creditors.2 But their affairs were apparently soon
straightened out; and both were returning to Mexico on the Pocket
when it was captured. With them were Hogan and Taylor, officers
of the Mexican navy.3 This probably explains how the papers de-
scribing the coast of Texas came to be found on the Pocket-
Thompson may have collected the information contained in them
while he was stationed at Anahuac.
The conduct of the Texans after the capture was set forth by
Samuel Ellis in a communication to the editor of the New Orleans
Bee. He said:4
You assert that the cargo was American property and actually
belonged to Lizardi & Co. until delivered.5 The evidence of one
of the firm, given before the examining court,:6 was that the cargo
on shipment was by the order of and charged to Rubio, & Co.; that
the premium was charged to them and that they considered the
cargo at their risk. That such was the understanding is evident
from the clause of the charter which expressly stipulates that the
brig shall carry a signal generally known as that of the acknowl-
edged agents of Santa Anna, which signal was to be furnished by
Lizardi & Co. As further proof of the character of the vessel and
the purpose for which she was engaged we have the evidence of
three witnesses on the trial that Captain Howes acknowledged to
them that he was engaged after his arrival at Matamoras to trans-
port Mexican troops to Texas.
On the arrival of the Pocket at Galveston she was, by the evi-
dence of the captain and crew, given over to the Texan authorities
1Sometimes written O'Campo, or simply Campo.
'Exec. Docs., 25th Cong., 2d Sess., XII, 730.
sThe True American, May 5, 1836.
'His communications to the Bee are found in the numbers for May 20,
21, and 24, 1836. He latter printed all three in form of a circular under
the title "Capture of the Brig Pocket," a copy of which is in the Austin
Papers.
"He was referring to an editorial in the Bee for May 16, 1836. Lizardi
& Co. was the firm that shipped the cargo of the Pocket.
'Referring to the trial of the crew of the Invincible.279
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 12, July 1908 - April, 1909, periodical, 1909; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101048/m1/317/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.