Navy of the Republic of Texas, 1835-1845

Like any country, the Republic of Texas needed a military presence in case the need should ever arise to protect its citizens. In Dr. Alex Dienst’s volume The Navy of the Republic of Texas, the histories of the two official navies of the Republic of Texas are explained in great detail. The First Texas Navy was under the command of Commodore Charles Edward Hawkins and helped to prevent a Mexican blockage of the Texas coast during the Texas Revolution. By October 1837, all of the ships of the First Texas Navy had been lost at sea, sunk by the Mexican Navy, run aground or captured. In 1839, in response to Mexico’s refusal to acknowledge Texas as a separate nation, the Texas Congress acquired six new vessels, which constituted the beginning of the Second Texas Navy. Under the command of Commodore Edwin Moore, the group raided the Mexican coast. In 1843, the unique Naval Battle of Campeche occurred in which a sailing warship engaged and fought a war with a steamer ship, ending in a draw. After the Annexation of Texas in 1846, the Second Texas Navy merged with that of the United States. Much later, in 1958, Governor Price Daniels formed a “Third and Honorary” Texas Navy headquartered in Houston. Today, the Navy holds exclusive Annual Admiral Balls at the Houston Yacht Club. While never extremely successful or large in numbers, the navies of the Republic of Texas fought to ensure their nation was recognized as independent at all costs.