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A Brief Overview of
the Texas Navy
Note: This text is
often used at Texas Navy Commissioning Ceremonies
In
1836 when
Texas
proclaimed its
Independence
from
Mexico
, the small nation was immediately faced with invasion on land and sea
by overwhelming forces from
Mexico
---a power having many times the population and military resources of
the infant
Republic
of
Texas
.
The first Texas Navy, consisting of four hastily purchased and minimally
equipped small sailing vessels, was headquartered at
Galveston
, and prevented the Mexican government from landing a second army on the
Texas
coast. Had this army landed, it would have trapped General Sam
Houston and his small command.
The Army of Texas finally triumphed over its larger and much better
equipped foe at
San Jacinto
, and historians now agree that one of the most important elements in
that great victory was the brief but furious maritime activity of the
Texas Navy.
Shortly after that triumph, the first Texas Navy was disbanded; its task
completed.
Mexico
refused to acknowledge
Texas
' independence, and in 1839 began to organize a new and much larger
expedition against the struggling and nearly bankrupt
Texas
Republic
. With six hurriedly acquired vessels, the second Texas Navy was sent to
sea under the command of young Commodore Edwin Moore.
Sometimes nearly starving, and often maintained by the personal credit of
its commander and that of Secretary of the Navy, S. Rhodes Fisher, the
Texans repeated the tactics of the first Texas Navy, except on a larger
scale.
The second Texas Navy harassed the Mexicans from the Rio Grande
to
Yucatan
for three years, and dominated the Mexican fleet which was largely
commanded by mercenary officers on furlough from
Britain
's Royal Navy.
Finally, defeating a much larger Mexican naval force off
Yucatan in what has come to be know as the Battle of Campeche
---a battle unique because it marked the only occasion on which a sailing
war ship engaged and defeated a war steamer---the exploits of the
sea-going Texans forced the abandonment of the Mexican invasion plans. The
second Texas Navy maintained the sovereignty of the Republic until
Texas
joined the
United States
in 1845. The Texas Navy was then absorbed by the United States Navy.
The story of the hardship and savage fighting of those small fleets of
battered ships and intrepid seamen was largely forgotten until the third
Texas Navy was established as a commemorative organization by Governor
Price Daniel in 1958.
In 1973, the 63rd Texas Legislature passed a resolution that
ratified the Texas Navy as an official state organization, devoted
to preserving the history of the three Navies of Texas.
Today, Texans are honored with Commissions as Texas Navy Admirals for
noteworthy service to the State of
Texas
, and the
United States of America
.
- Originally written by
Admiral Nass, and revised in 2006 by Admiral Dick Brown
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