Brig Archer | |
History | |
---|---|
Namesake: | Branch Tanner Archer |
Builder: | Schott and Whitney, Baltimore |
Launched: | April 25, 1840 |
Commissioned: | 1842 |
Decommissioned: | May 11, 1846 |
Renamed: | Originally called the Galveston |
Homeport: | Galveston, Texas |
Fate: | transferred to the United States Navy and then sold |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Brig |
Displacement: | 405 tons |
Tons burthen: | 419 tons |
Length: | 112 ft (34 m) |
Beam: | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
Draft: | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
Propulsion: | wind |
Speed: | variable |
Complement: |
|
Armament: |
|
The Texan brig Archer was a two-masted brig of the Second Texas Navy from 1842-1846. She was the sister ship of the Wharton. Transferred to the United States Navy in 1846, she was sold for $450.
Archer was built in Baltimore, Maryland at the Schott and Whitney shipyard. Originally called the Galveston, she was rechristened in honor of Branch Tanner Archer, a diplomat of the Republic of Texas. [1]
She was the last ship of the Texas Navy to be delivered under a contract with the shipbuilding firm Schott and Whitney. She was constructed in Baltimore and was delivered on April 25, 1840. In response to the raids of Mexican generals Rafael Vásquez and Adrián Woll, she was commissioned in 1842. In April of that year she was sent to New Orleans, Louisiana for refitting and re-arming, most of her guns having been transferred to the Austin and the Wharton. The Archer was never sent to sea on a major cruise.
When the United States formally annexed Texas on May 11, 1846, the Archer was transferred to the United States Navy, which in turn sold the ship for 450 dollars on November 30, 1846.
The Archer was commanded by:
HMS Archer was a Long Island-class escort carrier built by the United States in 1939–1940 and operated by the Royal Navy during World War II. She was built as the cargo ship Mormacland, but was converted to an escort carrier and renamed HMS Archer. Her transmission was a constant cause of problems which led to her being withdrawn from front-line service. She was used as a stores ship and then as an accommodation ship before a refit and subsequent use as a merchant aircraft ferry ship, Empire Lagan.
USS Potomac was a frigate in the United States Navy laid down by the Washington Navy Yard in August 1819 and launched in March 1822. Fitting out was not completed until 1831, when Captain John Downes assumed command as first commanding officer. Although called a "44" 1st class, she was built to mount 32 carronades on her spar deck, 30 long guns on her gun deck, two bow and three stern chasers on each of these decks, significantly under-rating her on the rating system of the Royal Navy.
The second USS Lawrence was a brig in the United States Navy launched by Langley B. Culley at Baltimore, Maryland on 1 August 1843 and commissioned 19 September 1843, Commander William H. Gardner in command.
Washington was a revenue cutter that served in the United States Revenue Cutter Service and in the United States Navy. She discovered, boarded and captured La Amistad after the slaves onboard had seized control of that schooner in an 1839 mutiny.
The Texas Navy, officially the Navy of the Republic of Texas, also known as the Second Texas Navy, was the naval warfare branch of the Texas Military Forces during the Republic of Texas. It descended from the Texian Navy, which was established in November 1835 to fight for independence from Centralist Republic of Mexico in the Texas Revolution. The Texas Navy, Texas Army, and Texas Militia were officially established on September 5, 1836 in Article II of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas. The Texas Navy and Texas Army were merged with the United States Armed Forces on February 19, 1846 after the Republic of Texas became the 28th state of America.
The Texan schooner Independence was one of the four schooners of the First Texas Navy (1836–1838). At the direction of Texas Governor Henry Smith, in 1836 Charles Hawkins took command of United States revenue cutter Ingham acquired by the Texas Navy and renamed Independence.
The Texan brig Wharton was a two-masted brig of the Second Texas Navy from 1839-1846. She was the sister ship of the Archer. Accompanying the Texas flagship, Austin, she defeated a larger force of Mexican Navy steamships in the Naval Battle of Campeche in May 1843. Transferred to the United States Navy in 1846, she was sold for $55.
The Texan sloop-of-war Austin was the flagship of the Second Texas Navy from 1840 to 1846. Commanded by Commodore Edwin Ward Moore, she led a flotilla in the capture of Villahermosa in 1840. After a period of inaction in port, Austin participated in the Naval Battle of Campeche in 1843. Austin was transferred to the United States Navy when Texas joined the United States in 1845, but was run aground and broken up in 1848.
USRC Walter Forward was a schooner constructed for service with the United States Revenue Marine. She was more commonly known as USRC Forward. Forward served with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy in Mexican waters during the Mexican–American War and was commended for her actions during the Tabasco River landings by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, U.S. Navy. After the war, she was transferred to the U.S. Coast Survey for a short time as USCS Walter Forward before being returned to the Revenue Marine for service during the 1850s and the American Civil War.
The Texan schooner San Jacinto was a two-masted schooner of the Second Texas Navy from 1839 to 1840. She was the sister ship of the San Antonio and the San Bernard. In 1840, San Jacinto was part of the Texas Navy flotilla led by Commodore Edwin Ward Moore which was dispatched to assist Yucatecan rebels that had taken up arms against Mexico. In a storm, San Jacinto ran aground at Cayos Arcas and was wrecked. The crew were rescued by the flagship Austin.
The Texan schooner San Antonio was a two-masted schooner of the Second Texas Navy from 1839-1840. She was the sister ship of the San Jacinto and the San Bernard. In 1840, San Antonio was part of the Texas Navy flotilla led by Commodore Edwin Ward Moore which was dispatched to assist Yucatecan rebels that had taken up arms against Mexico. In February 1842, while re-provisioning in New Orleans, the crew of the San Antonio mutinied and the Lieutenant was killed. This was the only mutiny in the history of the Texas Navy. That fall, the San Antonio sailed for Campeche and was never heard from again.
The Texan schooner San Bernard was a two-masted schooner of the Second Texas Navy from 1839-1840. She was the sister ship of the San Jacinto and the San Antonio. In 1840, San Antonio was part of the Texas Navy flotilla led by Commodore Edwin Ward Moore which was dispatched to assist Yucatecan rebels that had taken up arms against Mexico. Returning to the Yucatan in 1841, San Bernard assisted in the capture of three Mexican prizes. Upon return to Galveston, San Bernard was driven ashore and was not repaired. When Texas joined the United States in 1846, San Bernard was transferred to the United States Navy and then sold for $150.
USS Van Buren was a schooner that served as part of the United States Revenue Cutter Service. The ship was named after Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the U.S. The ship was commissioned and set sail on 2 December 1839, and served a regular tour of duty with the Revenue Service. During the Second Seminole War, the ship was transferred to the United States Navy, and served as a support ship to troops along the coasts of Florida's rivers.
The Texan brig Potomac was a ship of the Second Texas Navy that never sailed as a warship. For a while, in 1838, she was the only ship in the Texas Navy. She was decommissioned in 1843.
USS Flirt was a schooner of the United States Navy, in commission from 1839 until 1850, which saw service in the Second Seminole War and the Mexican–American War before being sold into commercial service.
The Mexican Navy steam paddle frigate Guadalupe was the flagship of the Mexican Navy from 1842 to 1847. She participated in the Naval Battle of Campeche in 1843. She was one of the first iron hulled warships ever built and the one of the first to see action in a naval battle.
The Mexican Navy steam paddle frigate Montezuma was part of the Mexican Navy from 1842 to 1847. She participated in the Naval Battle of Campeche in 1843. She was one of the first paddle warships to see action in a naval battle. She was then purchased by the Spanish Navy, renamed Castilla and was their first steam warship to cross the Atlantic Ocean.