Edwin Ward Moore Edwin Ward Moore ( July 15 , 1810 – October 5 , 1865 ) , was a United States Navy officer who also served as commodore ( 1839 – 1843 ) and commander in chief of the navy of the Republic of Texas . Early life . Moore was born in Alexandria , Virginia . His grandfather and uncle had served in the American Revolution . Moore was a classmate of Robert E . Lee at the Alexandria Academy . Early Naval Career . Moore entered the United States Navy as a midshipman in 1825 at the age of fifteen . His first assignment came when he was posted to the USS " Hornet " , followed by stints on the " Fairchild " and the " Delaware " . He saw active service on the Atlantic Coast and the Mediterranean Sea . In 1830 , Moore was stationed at the Gosport Navy Yard and five years later was commissioned a lieutenant and assigned to the sloop - of - war " Boston " on July 1 , 1836 . While serving on the " Boston " , Moore saved the ship from sinking when it encountered heavy seas in a hurricane . In September 1836 , the " Boston " , captured the Texas privateer " Terrible " off the coast of New Orleans . The Texas ship was sent to Pensacola , Florida on piracy charges . It is believed this contact with the Texans prompted Moore to re - evaluate his military career . Promotion within the U . S . Navy at this time was a slow process as many of the officers who served in the War of 1812 still held rank above Moore . Republic of Texas . In 1839 , Moore was accused of recruiting officers and up to eighty sailors from the " Boston " to join him in enlisting with the Republic of Texas Navy . Moore ' s cousin , Alexander Moore , confirmed this rumor to Commodore Charles Ridgley who forwarded the charges to the Secretary of the Navy . On July 8 , 1839 Moore resigned from the U . S . Navy to become commander of the Republic of Texas Navy . U . S . Secretary of the Navy , John Forsyth tried to bring charges against Moore based on his violation of the Neutrality Act of 1819 , but Moore resigned his commission before any trial was held . From 1840 – 1841 he sailed off the Mexican coast to hasten peace negotiations between the Republic of Texas and Mexico . On collapse of the negotiations , Moore returned to Texas and to the support of Texas President Mirabeau B . Lamar . Lamar signed a treaty with the Mexican state of Yucatán for the lease of the Texas navy for $ 8 , 000 per month and to protect their ports from being blockade d by the Mexican Navy . On September 18 , 1841 , Moore received orders to guard the Yucatán coast in conformity with the Texas - Yucatán Treaty and on December 13 , 1841 left Galveston , Texas with three ships to join the small Yucatán fleet at Sisal , Yucatán under the command of former Texas Navy officer Captain James D . Boylan . Moore later captured the town of San Juan Bautista and then surveyed the Texas coast . His chart was later published by the British Admiralty . President Houston . Upon becoming President of the Republic of Texas , Sam Houston suspended the treaty with the Yucatán and ordered the fleet to return to Texas . Houston was not a big supporter of the Texas Navy . When funds , approved by the Texas Congress , for naval repairs were withheld by Houston , Moore re - instated the treaty with the Yucatán in defiance of Houston ' s orders . Moore and two other Texas ships , along with a few from the Yucatán navy , engaged the Mexican fleet in May 1843 in the Battle of Campeche . Mexico ' s naval fleet consisted of the British - built ironclad steam - powered warship the Guadalupe and was the most advance fleet ever assemble in the Gulf of Mexico at that time . Their battle was determined a draw even though Mexico suffered high casualties . The Mexican government even coined a medal of bravery for their sailors . Mexican Commodore Francisco de Paula Lopez , a naval veteran , was recalled for his failure to defeat a smaller and out - gunned force and was court - martialed . End of Career . On January 16 , 1843 the Texas Congress ordered the sale of the Texas fleet . On June 1 , 1843 Moore and the fleet , had received Houston ' s proclamation accusing them of disobedience , piracy and suspending Moore from the Texas Navy . Houston even went so far as to ask for any friendly nation to capture and execute the Texas fleet . Moore returned to Galveston on July 14 and turned himself in at the port of Menard ' s Wharf a hero to the people of Texas and he demanded a trial . Later years . After the dissolution of the Texas Navy , Moore spent many years in prosecuting financial claims against Texas . In 1844 the Texas House of Representatives concluded that Moore was owed $ 26 , 510 . 41 . He was paid , in installments , with the last payment coming in 1856 . Moore married Emma Matilda Stockton Cox of Philadelphia in 1849 . She was a distant cousin of Commodore Robert Stockton . In 1850 , Moore and other officers petitioned the U . S . Navy to recognize their rank as officers with the Texas Navy . The House Naval Affairs Committee supported their claim , but the United States Supreme Court did not agree holding that when Texas joined the Union , only property , and not human beings , belonged to the United States . On March 3 , 1857 Congress finally closed the books on Moore and the other officers by granting them five years of back pay at the salaries of corresponding U . S . Navy officers . He was in New York City for a time attempting to perfect a machine to revolutionize marine engineering . His quarrel with Sam Houston over the justice of his suspension from the navy continued during Houston ' s term as U . S . Senator . In 1860 , Moore returned to Galveston , where he built the Galveston Customhouse . Moore died in New York City on October 5 , 1865 of apoplexy , and is buried in the First Presbyterian Church of Germantown , Pennsylvania . References . Sources . Edwin Ward Moore in the Handbook of Texas