Battle of Matamoros The Battle of Matamoros was a naval engagement during the Texas Revolution on April 3 , 1836 between one ship of the Mexican Navy and one of the Texas Navy . The Mexican ship was outmaneuvered and repeatedly hit before running aground and abandoned . The Port of Matamoros , also known as Los Brazos de Santiago , was the Mexican army ' s primary resupply base for the operations of General Santa Anna , who was finally defeated on April 21 , 1836 , outside of Houston at the battle of San Jacinto . Background . The " Invincible " was purchased by the Texan government , then in rebellion , which was disturbed by the appearance of Mexican naval raiders along the Gulf Coast . Captain Jeremiah Brown was given command of the " Invincible " on March 12 , 1836 in Galveston . Captain Brown was tasked with defending the Texas coast , and neutralizing the Mexican man - of - war " Montezuma " . The " Invincible " cruised south to the mouth of the Rio Grande , where on April 3 , 1836 , she encountered the ten gun Mexican brig in the Port of Matamoros , also known as Brazos Santiago , now Boca Chica at the mouth of the Laguna Madre . Battle . The Mexican cruiser " Montezuma " had two 68 - pounder guns , eight 32 - pounder Paixhans gun s and had a crew of about 75 men . The Paixhans guns fired a shell that exploded on impact , creating a shower of shrapnel over the target . The Texas schooner " Invincible " had two 18 - pounder guns , two 9 - pounder guns and four 6 - pounder guns with a smaller crew than " Montezuma " . After the approach and raising of the Texas colors at 10 : 00 am , Captain Jeremiah Brown ordered his artillerists to open fire on the " Montezuma " . For a short while the two warships exchanged broadsides , scoring some hits as " Invincible " outmaneuvered " Montezuma " by sailing in circles around the Mexican vessel , firing broadsides the entire time . " Invincible " only made two passes before the slower Mexican cruiser was in flames . Eventually the " Montezuma " ran aground on a sandbar , sealing her fate . The Mexican officers and crew quickly escaped into the water from the severely damaged vessel and made it ashore on the enemy coast . The " Invincible " continued to barrage her opponent until she was destroyed . Casualties are unknown . Aftermath . The Texans emerged victorious , having destroyed the " Montezuma " . Later that day , the " Invincible " encountered an American merchant vessel , the " Pocket " . After engaging and capturing the " Pocket " , Captain Brown discovered a cache of weapons , as well as supplies being shipped to the Mexican Army . Accompanying the supplies were Mexican naval officers and a considerable amount of military documents , all in Spanish . The " Pocket " was sent to Galveston under a prize crew . The supplies aboard the " Pocket " were sent to General Sam Houston ' s army , where the general used them against the Mexicans at San Jacinto . This action by the Texas Navy of disrupting the Mexican army ' s maritime based supply chain from the Port of Matamoros , more than anything else , led to their later defeat at San Jacinto , Texas . Their vastly superior army had been forced to scatter into several smaller units , in order to procure food throughout Texas .