Texas Navy The Texas Navy was the official navy of the Republic of Texas . It was created to protect and defend the coastline of Texas and offer protection for the shipping and trade that was desperately needed for the growing republic . Revolutionary Texas Navy . Under the command of Commodore Charles Edward Hawkins they helped win independence by preventing a Mexican blockade of the Texas coast , seizing dozens of Mexican fishing vessels and sending their cargoes on to the Texas volunteer army . During the Texas Revolution , government officials in Washington - on - the - Brazos , decided to establish an official navy . In January 1836 , agents purchased four schooner s : " Invincible " , " Brutus " , " Independence " , and " Liberty " . According to Teddy Roosevelt , the Texas Navy succeeded in preventing reinforcements and provisions at their naval base at Matamoros from reaching General Santa Anna ' s forces then occupying Texas . This forced Santa Anna to disperse his large army , to forage for food and supplies . This in turn is what led to his defeat at San Jacinto by General Sam Houston , as he was outnumbered . By the October 1837 , all of the ships had been lost at sea , sunk by the Mexican Navy , run aground , captured , or sold , and replacements were being procured . Texas Navy of the Republic . In 1839 , in response to Mexico ' s continued refusal to acknowledge the independence of the Republic of Texas , the Texas Congress acquired six new vessels and placed them under the command of Commodore Edwin Moore , a lieutenant in the United States Navy , who left for the opportunity to lead the Texas Navy . The six vessels were known as the second Texas Navy . For three years the Texas Navy raided the Mexican coast and kept the Mexican fleet focused on defending its own coastline . In the Naval Battle of Campeche on 16 May 1843 the Texas Navy sloop - of - war " Austin " and brig " Wharton " , supported by ships from the rebellious Mexican State of Yucatan ( then the Republic of Yucatán ) , engaged Mexican naval vessels , including the steamships " Montezuma " and " Guadalupe " . This battle is believed to be unique , marking the only occasion in which a sailing warship engaged and fought a war steamer to a draw . The battle , which raged over several days , was a tactical draw , but a strategic victory for the Texan Navy , which forced the Mexicans to lift their blockade of Campeche and assured security in the meantime for the rebels in Yucatan . Other ships of the Texas Navy at the time included the brig s " Potomac " and " Archer " , the schooner s " San Jacinto " , " San Antonio " and the " San Bernard " , and the " Zavala " , the first steamship - of - war in North America . When Texas joined the United States in 1846 , the Texas Navy was merged into the United States Navy . Texas Navy 1958 . In 1958 Governor Price Daniel reactivated the Texas Navy with headquarters in Houston . They held Annual Admiral Balls at the Houston Yacht Club and the Governor would review the fleet each year at the San Jacinto Monument . The fleet consisted of every conceivable type of vessel from luxury cruisers to canoes . Officers were selected on their merits and commissioned by the Governor as Admirals in the Texas Navy . The Texas Navy , Inc . , dba the Texas Navy Association , was formed under the authority of the Texas Secretary of State in 1972 . The Association was formed as a non - profit organization devoted to preserving the history of the Texas Navy . The headquarters moved from Houston to Galveston , Texas in 1973 . Membership is open to anyone who holds a commission as an Admiral in the Texas Navy from a Governor of the State of Texas . Denial of land grants for veterans of the Texas Navy . Land promised in advance of military service is called a bounty , which is a military tradition dating back beyond the Roman Empire , and was a well established tradition in American military history prior to hostilities in Texas during the revolution . The founders of the Republic of Texas attempted to bolster recruitment into the armed forces through the generous inducement of land for military service . The policy in Texas was inconsistent , as not all Texas veterans were treated equally . Veterans of the Texas Navy , due to political rivalries , were excluded from taking part in the land - granting policies , or “ unnecessary extravagance ” , as it was explained by President Sam Houston at the time of his veto . Texas passed its first bounty act on November 24 , 1835 , when the general council created a regular army and promised those who served in it for two years of land . After the revolution , the Texas government distributed the public lands , especially to veterans . In all , was granted to veterans of the Texas army , or to Confederate soldiers in Texas . Not one of those nearly was granted for naval service , despite the importance of naval actions in the Gulf during the revolution . “ The fact remains that Texas could not have won her independence and maintained it as she did , without the navy , ” said Texas Navy historian Alex Dienst . It has been said that if the United States was Texas ’ s biological parent , then shipping lanes from New Orleans were the umbilical cord that kept the rebellion alive during its embryonic months . Historians point out that the Texas Navy was of vital importance to the war effort with approximately three - fourths of all troops , supplies and cash originating from the ports of New Orleans . It was seen as nearly impossible for commerce to go through any other channels into Texas other than by ship due to the impractical nature of crossing Louisiana swamplands , and the “ Big Thicket ” of East Texas . Navy vessels protected against marauding Mexican warships looking to cut the cord that flowed to Texas through Galveston , keeping the fledgling war effort , and eventually the Republic , alive . Additionally , military leaders knew the importance of the Texas coast to winning a revolution , or quashing a rebellion . In fact , Mexican General Vicente Filisola remarked , “ … the posts of Texas are not sustainable , whilst a maritime force does not co - operate with the operations of the land service . ” On the other side , Commander James Fannin , in an August 1835 letter , wrote that provisions were scarce for the Mexican army on dry land . He requested naval assistance to the army , asking : “ Where is your navy ? ” He pointed out that if Texas ships could block access to ports , “ they [ the Mexicans ] are ruined . ” Despite the importance of the Texas Navy to the Texas Revolution , politics got in the way of rewarding Navy veterans with bounty land grants when President Sam Houston , against legislative support , denied land grants to navy veterans in 1842 . The battle for bounty lands was a political struggle that culminated six years after the revolution , but had roots that stretched back to 1835 . Naval policy was another in a long line of differing views between Sam Houston and Mirabeau Lamar . Lamar preferred an aggressive naval policy that encouraged raids around the Gulf of Mexico to intimidate the enemy . Houston , on the other hand , preferred a more acquiescent naval policy that encouraged ships to stay close to shore , protecting ports for industry and commerce . These disagreements led to inconsistent policies during the Republic era , as Lamar and Houston traded the presidency back and forth . Robert Potter , a Senator , and the one - time Secretary of the Navy , and Senator James Webb proposed a resolution that would allow bounty land to be granted to navy veterans on November 4 , 1841 . It was noted in the November 18 , 1841 edition of the " San Augustine Red - Lander " that this “ Resolution will meet with much opposition in both Houses , and a warm discussion is expected . ” After the resolution was passed , it was presented to President Sam Houston , who vetoed the bill on January 6 , 1842 . In Houston ' s veto message , the President paid tribute to the “ exalted Gallantry and distinguished bravery ” of the men who went to sea on behalf of the Republic , but he would “ not sanction injudicious and unnecessary extravagance ” on their behalf . Houston went on to say , “ Generally , the seaman has no interest ( except a transitory one ) on shore . ” He explained that a people who made their living at sea would pay no attention to improving land granted to them . He believed that to give a land grant to a navy veteran would not benefit the country to any degree , explaining that , “ The harpies that are generally found in sea - ports , and to whom seamen usually become indebted , are those only who would profit by the bounty and munificence of the Government . ” Houston further explained that it was traditional that the sailor receives his pay , and also receives prize money for capturing enemy vessels . “ The sailor has his bounty and prize money as incentives to enlistment and continuance in the service ; none expect more , ” he said . “ If moreover , a fleet be in the vicinity of a land army , its co - operation is always supposed , and it accordingly participates in the spoils of victory . If , on the other hand , the victory be achieved by the fleet , the reverse is the case ; the Naval corps alone enjoy the entire reward of success . ” Houston also claimed that “ the sailors who would have claims are either dead or scattered to the winds of heaven . ” However , army veterans and their heirs were eligible to receive bounty land whether they lived or died . Houston continued , “ If bounty land were granted , the few who survived would deem it valueless , because not one of them would be willing to penetrate the wilderness in quest of a place to locate it , some hundreds of miles beyond the frontiers ; and rather than make the attempt , they would be willing to sell it for a trifle . ” Infuriated by the complete disdain that the “ Navy hating ” President of the Republic had shown , Robert Potter re - introduced a joint resolution on January 25 , 1842 that would hopefully pass over the President ’ s veto , authorizing the Secretary of War and Navy to issue certificates of bounty land to the officers , seamen , and marines of the Navy . Despite Potter ’ s reputation as a good steward of public land and his continual support of the navy , his arguments fell upon deaf ears as he continued to push the issue , to no success . The issue was tabled as President Houston ran out the clock on the bounty land for navy veterans ’ bill , and the issue would never be broached again .