The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963 Page: 90
641 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Ch Public letters of aorgaH aid aoore
it Regard to rhidr aau/ Actions
Edited by GEORGE F. HAUGH
TWO LETTERS, FROM COMMODORE E. W. MOORE OF THE TEXAS
Navy and from Colonel James Morgan, naval commis-
sioner of the Republic of Texas, were published on July
26, 1843, by the Houston Telegraph and Texas Register.' Com-
modore Moore had returned to Galveston on July 14, after Pres-
ident Sam Houston had issued a proclamation charging him with
piracy in connection with his expedition against the Mexican
Navy.2
Moore had gained control of the Gulf of Mexico for the Texas
Republic, however, and the editorial comment of the Telegraph
and Texas Register, printed with the letters, favored his actions.
The commodore demanded a trial on the charges levelled at him
by Houston, and he was tried on seven counts, not including
piracy, in the summer of 1844. The court found him guilty only
of "Disobedience of Orders," and no sentence was given.
It has been suggested that Houston's purpose in eliminating the
Texas Navy was to permit hostilities which would force intenven-
tion by the United States. In addition, Houston was violently
opposed to Moore at the time, with some justification since Moore
made no secret of his opposition to the policy of the president.
Colonel Morgan's letter appeared in the following form:
TO THE PUBLIC
As the late proceedure of Commodore Moore with the Texian
1The letters of both Moore and Morgan were printed on a broadside in Galveston
at the Independent Chronicle Office in 1843. In addition Morgan's letter was printed
in a four page pamphlet in Houston at the Telegraph office.
2A detailed discussion of the events which led to Houston's proclamation appears
in Tom Henderson Wells, Commodore Moore and the Texas Navy (Austin, 1960).
Although Wells' sympathies are obviously with Moore, his description of the Texan's
attempt to maintain a navy for the new republic provides a graphic picture of the
problems faced by Moore.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963, periodical, 1963; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101196/m1/104/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.