Firsthand stories of piracy, heroism in Texas Navy

The Texas Navy was pressed into service in January 1836 — just months before the newborn Republic declared independence from Mexico. By August 1837, all four ships were lost, as was the reputation of the ragtag flotilla of privateers and U.S. Navy veterans.

But correspondence recently culled the archives at the General Land Office casts new light on the lives of six men seen as pirates by some and heroes of the revolution by others. The letters, handwritten in a quill pen on faded yellowed paper, were pulled from files containing testimony from men who fought in the Texas Revolution seeking land grants for their service. The letters were found after archivists in Austin began searching for files under the names of men from an old Texas Navy muster roll.

Documents like these are hidden gems, and with Texas History Month upon us, I think they’re a great example of why Save Texas History has such an important mission to preserve and digitize the archives at the General Land Office.

The short history of the first Texas Navy was marked by both success and scandal. The men who signed up to serve on the four ocean-going ships can be credited with protecting supply lines from New Orleans and defending the Texas coast from Mexican invasion. The Texas Navy also brought in much-needed revenue for the cash-strapped republic, pillaging ships and towns on the Gulf of Mexico.

But the Texas Navy defied Sam Houston’s orders, raiding a ship belonging to the United Kingdom and causing a diplomatic row that threatened to undermine Texas’ early efforts to be recognized as an independent republic.

Because of this — and Houston’s view that the Navy crews benefited financially from their seizures — Houston denied land grants to Texas Navy veterans. They were the only men who fought for independence not to receive land for their service.

While historians still argue about the relative merits of the first Texas Navy, the letters culled from the General Land Office Archives provide details of both sacrifice and service. Capt. Silas Dinsmore, Moses E. Morrell and others provided the details in fruitless attempts to be recognized with land for their service at sea.

Testimony in Morrell’s file contains details about life aboard the Invincible, as well as the scrape he found himself in after he survived the sinking of the last ship of the first Texas Navy.

Morrell was aboard the Invincible as the Mexican Navy attacked it and the Brutus. The two ships were attempting to return to Galveston, heavily laden with Mexican booty after a two-month cruise of the Gulf raiding ships against Houston’s orders. The Mexicans sank the Invincible, while the Brutus was lost to a storm a month later, putting an end to the first Texas Navy.

“After cruising for months, living on the spoils of the enemy, green turtle and beans, we sailed for the harbor of Galveston,” Morrell wrote. “On our arrival, the tide being low and the Invincible being encumbered with plunder taken from the enemy, could not cross the bar.”

As Mexican warships bore down on the Invincible, Morrell wrote that the Brutus’ crew ran her aground in their rush to aid the Invincible. Realizing they were on their own, Morrell writes “all hands was called in our craft and the resolution formed of resisting (though 39 in number) to the last.” Two by two, the men slipped off the boat and safely made it to shore.

Once on the Galveston beach, however, Morrell still wasn’t safe. A fellow Texas sailor speared him through both thighs as Morrell leaned against a tent. The attacker, drunk from liquor brought ashore from the Brutus, was shot dead on the spot as punishment. Morrell was left to endure primitive medical care for his wounds, which tormented him for the rest of his life.

“Having no medical aid, I was ordered to the Houston Hospital here without any nourishment, lying under a tree for a month (the Hospital being full) with shavings for a pallet and sticks for a pillow,” he writes. Morrell earned 640 acres for his service in the Texas Army but was forced to sell the land certificate to feed himself while he was in the hospital. His application for a land grant for his service in the Navy was denied.

Documents like these letters provide important details on how the men who created Texas thought and felt. If you’re interested in Texas history, then you should be interested in helping save these documents and Save Texas History.

The Save Texas History program is a unique campaign that brings together private and government efforts to preserve more than 35 million documents stored at the Texas General Land Office. The Save Texas History program is supported entirely through the sale of high-quality map reproductions, Save Texas History calendars, This Week in Texas History CDs and charitable donations.

Jerry Patterson is Texas land commissioner.

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To purchase map reproductions and collectibles or to learn more about the program, visit www.SaveTexasHistory.org or call 1-800-998-4GLO.