Texan schooner Independence
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Independence |
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Career (Republic of Texas) | |
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Builder: | Webb and Allen, New York |
Laid down: | 1830 |
Acquired: | January 10, 1836 |
Commissioned: | January 10, 1836 |
Decommissioned: | August 27, 1837 |
Renamed: | January 10, 1836 previously was the United States Revenue cutter Ingham |
Homeport: | Galveston, Texas |
Captured: | April 17, 1837 |
Fate: | Surrendered to the Mexican Navy renamed La Independencia |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Schooner |
Displacement: | 125 tons |
Length: | 89 ft (27 m) |
Propulsion: | wind |
Speed: | variable |
Complement: | 40 |
Armament: | 6-6 pounders 1 long 9-pounder |
The Texan schooner Independence was one of the four schooners of the First Texas Navy (1836-1838). In 1836, Charles Hawkins, a veteran of the United States and Mexican navies, visited Texas Governor Henry Smith, seeking a commission in the new Texas Navy. Smith was impressed with his credentials and sent him to New Orleans, where he was given the task of acquiring the United States Revenue cutter Ingham for the Texas Navy,[1] which he did in early January, 1836, for $1,710.[2]
After the Texas victory at the Battle of San Jacinto in April, 1836, Independence carried the Texas President and his captive, General Santa Anna, to Velasco, where the Treaty of Velasco was negotiated and signed.
While being refitted in New Orleans in early 1837, her skipper died and a new Captain was appointed. When next she sailed in April, 1837, Independence was attacked and surrendered to a superior Mexican force and her officers and passengers were imprisoned. The ship was later commissioned in the Mexican Navy where she served against her former masters.
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[edit] Service during the Texas Revolution
From January until March, 1836, before Texas formally declared her independence from Mexico, Commodore Charles Hawkins cruised the Coahuila y Tejas coast between Galveston and Tampico, destroying "a considerable number of small craft, with all material on board that could be used to the injury of Texas."[3] By March 12, the Independence returned to New Orleans for refitting, but she quickly returned to Matagorda to block supplies to the Mexican Army, skirmishing inconclusively with the Mexican brigs Urrea and Bravo. However, with the retreat of Sam Houston's army after the Texans' defeats at the siege of the Battle of the Alamo and Battle of Goliad, Hawkins was forced to move his ship up the Texas coast from Matagorda to Galveston. With the rebel government in disarray during the Runaway Scrape, Independence's mission was to defend Galveston from invasion and block resupply of Santa Anna's nearby army.[3]
After the decisive Texas victory at the Battle of San Jacinto, Independence carried Texas President David G. Burnet and his cabinet along with the now-captive Santa Anna to Velasco, where the Treaty of Velasco was negotiated and signed.[3]
[edit] After the Treaty of Velasco
As flagship of the Texas Navy, Independence was tasked with conveying diplomatic missions. In June, 1836, the schooner bore commissioners Peter William Grayson and James W. Collinsworth to New Orleans on the first leg of their trip to Washington, D.C. to negotiate the recognition of Texas by the United States.[3]
In the summer of 1836, Independence was the only ship of the Texas Navy on duty in the Gulf of Mexico; Liberty having been sold to pay the cost of refurbishment and Invincible and Brutus in New York City for repairs.[4] Mexican authorities had recently repudiated the Treaty of Velasco claiming that General Santa Anna did not have the capacity to bind Mexico to recognize Texas' independence. With rumors of an imminent invasion of Texas by Mexico, Independence carried out a screening and patrol action at Matamoros, which the Texans had ordered blockaded.[3]
In the fall of 1836, Independence returned to New Orleans for refitting and while there Commodore Hawkins died of smallpox.[5] When Independence sailed from New Orleans on April 10, 1837, with Texas minister to the United States, William H. Wharton aboard, she was skippered by her new Captain, George W. Wheelwright,[3] who had been left without a command after the forced sale of Liberty in May, 1836.
[edit] Battle and surrender
On her next cruise, Independence had smooth sailing for about seven days when on April 17 she encountered the Mexican brigs-of-war Vencedor del Álamo and Libertador off the mouth of the Brazos River. The battle took place within plain view of the entire population of Velasco, including Texas Secretary of the Navy Samuel Rhoads Fisher. The populace witnessed a running cannonade and a raking of the Texan ship when the two Mexican brigs outmaneuvered her.[3] The raking did not substantially damage the schooner but wounded her captain who was taken below. Lieutenant John W. Taylor then took command and continued the battle as the better-armed Libertador closed to within pistol shot and took up a position to rake Independence's stern.
Taylor struck his colors, surrendering the ship. Independence's officers and Wharton were taken prisoner. Imprisoned in Matamoros, all of the prisoners eventually escaped or were released by the Mexican government. Independence was commissioned into the Mexican navy under the name La Independencia and continued to serve in the Gulf against the Texans.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Cutrer, Thomas. Charles Edward Hawkins. Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
- ^ Ingham, 1832. United States Coast Guard (October, 2003). Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cutrer, Thomas. Independence. Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
- ^ Dienst, Alex (1909). "The Navy of the Republic of Texas". Southwestern Historical Quarterly 12 (4): 249–275.
- ^ Dienst, Alex (1909). "The Navy of the Republic of Texas". Southwestern Historical Quarterly 12 (4): 249–275.
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