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men and munitions continued to pour into the new
Republic. The longer the informal reinforcements in
the form of individual adventurers could continue,
the better Texas was able to gird itself against future
assault. The existence of the Republic was still precarious,
but life remained in it. In this sense, Texas
seapower, whatever its shortcomings, was a success.
The year 1838 found Texas without any of the
warships that had served her so well. Indeed, she
was without any navy at all until Potomac, an old
merchant brig, was purchased from L. M. Hitchcock
of Galveston. It was an acquisition of dubious
wisdom at best, for her entire service was as
a station and receiving ship at Galveston. Inasmuch
as there were few sailors to spare, Potomac
served little purpose, constantly needing repair and
requiring more men to keep her secure than she
ever had available for transfer.With its naval forces in such a state, Texas was
saved from serious difficulty in 1838 by two circumstances
beyond her control. The first was internal
trouble in Mexico which required a
concentration of security forces at home and diluted
efforts that might have been made to retake
Texas.
The second was the "Pastry War" between
France and Mexico, so-called because one of its
causes was a French baker's claim against the
Mexican government. The conflict ended with
the bombardment and partial destruction of Fort
San Juan de Ulua at Vera Cruz and the capture
of virtually the entire Mexican Navy by the
French. Even though Vera Cruz was returned to
Mexican rule when peace was restored in 1839,
the French retained the captured warships. Thus,
during 1838 the naval power of both Texas and
Mexico became almost nonexistent.III. The Texas Navy: 1839 to the End of the Lone Star Republic
While Mexico continued to refuse recognition
and threaten reconquest, Texas found herself with
a new president, Mirabeau Bonaparte Lamar
(1838-1841), who was less inclined to await
Mexican attack. Under Lamar's administration
Texas reached a high watermark in nationalism,
and official policy soared to its most daring
heights. After the rejection of Texan overtures for
statehood by President Van Buren, Lamar decided
upon a course of complete autonomy for Texas. He
entertained plans for a capitol, a national bank,
and a state-run educational system. He would acquire
the diplomatic recognition of major European
powers, and support the independence of
Texas with a military establishment of whatever
size required.
A new Navy was created with first class warships
and a professional officers corps. Six vessels
were built in Baltimore for Texas under a contract
signed with one Frederick Dawson on 13 November
1838. The cost of the ships was $280,000-a sum
which was not paid until long after Texas was admitted
into the Union. They were well designed,
built, and rigged; as late as 1848, American naval
officers still commented on their fine lines. The
ships were completed and delivered intermittently
between June 1839 and April 1840.In addition to these new sailing vessels, Texas
purchased a large paddlewheel steamer named
Charleston in 1839. Built in 1837 and closely resembling
the merchant steamer Great Eastern, she
was armed and rechristened Zavala, after the first
Texas Vice President. She proved expensive to
maintain, and it was difficult to find engineers to
operate her in those early days of steam. Zavala's
top speed was less than nine knots, and the navy's
sailing ships were all considerably faster in a strong
and favorable wind. Nevertheless, she was an important
addition to the Texas Navy squadron, for
she gave it a capability to operate in calm weather
and on rivers.
The new commander of the Texas Navy was
Captain Edwin Ward Moore, at 29 a veteran of
fourteen years of service as an officer in the United
States Navy. Usually known by his courtesy title of
"Commodore", Moore was a thorough seaman, a
dynamic leader, and a fiery fighter, completely
imbued with an awareness that Texas must maintain
or lose her independence at sea. The fleet he
commanded was so completely dominated by
Moore that his service and the Navy's history are
inseparable.
After a period of recruiting, outfitting, and
training, Moore's squadron-consisting of Austin,11
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U.S. Navy Department. Naval History Division. Texas Navy, book, January 1, 1968; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2419/m1/13/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.