First Texas Navy The First Texas Navy carried out operations , before and after the Texas Revolution , from 1835 to 1837 . Over the course of two years the Texans launched several operations in the Gulf of Mexico which helped supply General Sam Houston ' s army . Though General Houston defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto in April 1836 , armed conflict at sea continued into August 1837 when the Texans lost their last two warships . Operations . 1835 . During the naval campaign of the Texas Revolution , the Texans had three objectives . The first was to defend their coastline from a sea - bourne Mexican invasion , the second being to escort rebel ships back and forth between Texas and the United States where the main source of volunteer soldiers and supplies were coming in from . The third objective was to inflict serious casualties on the Mexicans in the hopes of forcing them to recognize the independence of Texas . Mexican naval forces had the mission of trying to blockade the long Texas coastline which was impossible for the few ships stationed in the region . Due to the shortage of ships , Mexico ' s blockade remained largely ineffective throughout the hostilities . This allowed the Texans to import much of their war material by sea . The Texas Navy in 1835 was nonexistent , the only rebel naval forces were six privateer s authorized by the rebel government at the end of the year . However , in the first naval battle of the war involving Texas , rebels boarded the American owned ship " San Felipe " and the steamer " Laura " on September 1 , 1835 and then proceeded to attack the Mexican treasury vessel " Correo de Mexico " off Brazoria , which was taken as a prize to New Orleans . Other than the commissioning of privateers , the Texan government agreed to authorize the purchase of four schooner s on November 24 , 1835 for use in defending territorial waters . The first of the ships acquired was the former revenue service ship USRC " Ingham " which fought a battle with Mexican naval forces on June 14 , 1835 off Brazos Santiago . " Ingham " was a small six gun ship of 112 tons and she was renamed " Independence " . The " Independence " became the flagship of the First Texas Navy and was under the command of Captain Charles E . Hawkins . The second schooner was " Brutus " , she was nearly twice as large as the " Independence " and was placed under Captain William A . Hurd , the former commander of the privateer " William Robisnon " , which was also acquired for duty in the regular navy . The " William Robinson " was renamed " Liberty " and put under the command of Captain W . S . Brown , whose brother , Captain Jeremiah Brown , commanded the fourth schooner , named " Invincible " . The next engagement after the " Correo de Mexico " affair occurred on December 19 , 1835 when the " William Robbins " liberated the American merchant ship " Hannah Elizabeth " which had been captured by the Mexicans for carrying two cannons , allegedly intended for the rebels . 1836 . Due to the taking of " Correo de Mejico " and the " Hannah Elizabeth " , the Mexican Navy responded by escorting their merchantmen . The schooners " Bravo " and " Vera Cruzana " were two of the vessels known to have been involved in escort duty . Meanwhile , the " Independence " was dipatched on a solo cruise of the Mexican Gulf for the first three months of 1836 . She was successful in capturing multiple small fishing vessels and disrupted communications between Mexico and General Antonio López de Santa Anna ' s army in Texas . On March 3 , Captain W . Brown in the " Liberty " was sailing to the Yucatan when he encountered the armed Mexican merchantman " Pelican " . In the ensuing battle the Texans captured the enemy ship while under fire from the fortress at Sisal . The " Pelican " was then sent as a prize to Matagorda but she ran aground on a sandbar off the port and was wrecked . Over 300 kegs of gunpowder and other military supplies was found on board the ship and it eventually was utilized by General Houston ' s army . " Liberty " captured the American brig " Durango " shortly thereafter and it too was found to be carrying Mexican Army supplies . Around the same time , Captain Jeremiah Brown in the " Invincible " took the American brig " Pocket " at the mouth of the Rio Grande , she was carrying contraband as well but her owners informed the United States Navy . Subsequently , the American Commodore Alexander J . Dallas arrested Captain Brown and his crew for piracy when they sailed into New Orleans that May for provisioning . The charges were eventually dropped on the account that all of the seized American ships carried Mexican military stores but a civil suit remained in litigation for years afterward . Texan authorities took the time to purchase the " Pocket " and both the ship and her cargo were used against the Mexicans . On April 3 , the " Invincibe " attacked the Mexican ship " Montezuma " off Matamoros . Captain Brown ordered his men to open fire while the schooner maneuvered in circles around the " Montezuma " until she ran aground and sank . On April 11 , the privateer " Flash " picked up the refugees and survivors of the Runaway Scrape at Morgan ' s Point , including members of President David G . Burnet ' s family . The next significant event of the conflict , which had an effect on the naval campaign , was the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21 , 1836 . In it , General Houston led an attack on the Mexican Army and routed them , capturing General Santa Anna in the process who was then forced to sign a treaty recognizing the independence of Texas . The fighting on land was over at that point but because the Mexican government never ratified the Treaty of Velasco , the naval campaign continued on for another year . After San Jacinto the " Invincible " was used to deliver the news of victory to President Burnet and the " Liberty " escorted the ship " Flora " to New Orleans . The " Flora " was an unarmed vessel carrying the wounded General Houston who needed better medical attention than what he could receive in Texas . During the stay in New Orleans , the American navy seized the " Liberty " on May 22 and sold her as compensation for unpaid bills . On June 3 , twenty Texas Rangers under Major Isaac Burton joined in the naval operations when they boarded and took over three American ships near Corpus Christi . All three were carrying war materials and they were condemned by the admiralty court in Velasco . 1837 . The United States Navy ' s response to this incident was sending the sloop USS " Natchez " . On April 16 , 1837 , the " Natchez " was involved in a combat incident with Mexican ships off the Rio Grande . In the battle the Americans captured the Mexican brig " General Urrea " and liberated the merchantman " Climax " , all while under cannon fire from the two brigs " General Teran " and " General Bravo " , as well as a Mexican fort . The American commander , Captain William Mervine , was later found to have exceeded his authority in taking a Mexican warship so he was forced to apologize to the Mexicans and release the " General Urrea " . While the " Independence " and the " Liberty " were conducting their missions , the other three Texan warships , " Invincible " , " Brutus " and " Pocket " , were directed to blockade Matamoros until September when they sailed for New Orleans and New York for repairs . These three ships remained in American waters for the rest of the year and finally returned to the war zone in the spring of 1837 , by which time the Mexican Navy had sent three brigs and two schooners to blockade Galveston . On April 17 , the " Independence " engaged the Mexican brigs " Vencedor del Alamo " and " Libertador " while she was entering the Brazos River . Captain George W . Wheelwright knew he was outgunned so he fled up the river and the Mexicans followed for five hours before finally forcing the Texans to surrender in front of Velasco , Texas and Secretary of the Navy Samuel Rhoads Fisher . The final naval battle of the war was fought on August 26 , 1837 , just as the " Invincible " and the " Brutus " were returning to Galveston after a successful cruise in which five Mexican vessels were captured along with the British brig " Eliza Russell " . The " Vencedor del Alamo " and " Libertador " chased the " Invincible " for a short time before she ran aground and was abandoned and the " Brutus " was wrecked and sank . Thus the last two rebel ships were destroyed and it wasn ' t until 1839 that the Texans would have a navy again .