Texan schooner Zavala

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Texan schooner Zavala.JPG
Zavala
History
Flag of the United States (1822-1836).svg United States
NameCharleston
Namesake Charleston, South Carolina
BuilderJohn Vaughan and Son
Completed1836
FateSold to Texan Navy, November 1838
Flag of Texas.svg Republic of Texas
NameZavala
Namesake Lorenzo de Zavala
AcquiredNovember 1838
Commissioned23 March 1839
DecommissionedMay 1842
Homeport Galveston, Texas
Fateran aground, later broken up and sold for scrap
General characteristics
Type Schooner
Length201 ft (61 m)
Beam24 ft (7.3 m)
Draft12 ft (3.7 m)
Propulsionsteam
Capacity120
Complement
  • 24 officers
  • 123 sailors & marines
Armament
  • 4-12 lb. med.
  • 1-9 lb. long

The Texan steamship Zavala was a Texas Navy ship in Texas' second Navy after the Texas Revolution. She was the first steamship-of-war in the Texas Navy. [1] [2]

Contents

Background of the Texas Navy

The Texas Navy was officially formed in January 1836, with the purchase of four schooners: Invincible, Brutus, Independence, and Liberty. These ships, under the command of Commodore Charles Hawkins, helped Texas win independence by preventing a Mexican blockade of the Texas coast, seizing Mexican ships carrying reinforcements and supplies to its army, and sending their cargoes to the Texas volunteer army. Nevertheless, Mexico refused to recognize Texas as an independent country. By the middle of 1837, all of the ships had been lost at sea, run aground, captured, or sold. With no ships to impede a possible invasion by Mexico, Texas was vulnerable to attack.

In 1838, President Mirabeau B. Lamar responded to this threat by forming a second Texas Navy. Unlike Sam Houston, Lamar was an ardent supporter of the Texas Navy and saw the urgent need for its continuation. The second Texas Navy was placed under the command of Commodore Edwin Ward Moore, an Alexandria Academy graduate who was recruited from the United States Navy. [3] One of the ships of this second navy was the Zavala.

History of Zavala

Pennant of the Zavala Pennant of the Zavala.svg
Pennant of the Zavala

Zavala was built in 1836 as a passenger steamship named the Charleston serving the Philadelphia-Charleston route. [4] In 1838, when Lamar began rebuilding the Texan fleet, the navy purchased Charleston for $120,000 and renamed it Zavala in honor of Lorenzo de Zavala, the first vice president of the Republic of Texas.

On 10 May 1839, Zavala assisted in the refloating of the French frigate Néréide, which had run aground at Galveston. [5] Captain A. C. Hinton was her first commander in the Texas Navy. Capt. John T. K. Lothrop took command of Zavala on 4 March 1840 and led her on her only campaign. [4] After the successful Texas revolt, other parts of Mexico had rebelled against the regime of Santa Anna, including the Yucatan peninsula. President Lamar was determined to assist the rebels in their struggle with Mexico City. So, on 24 June 1840, Zavala accompanied by Commodore Moore's flagship, the sloop-of-war Austin, and three armed schooners, slipped out of Galveston Bay and turned south across the Gulf to the Bay of Campeche near the Yucatan Peninsula. [6]

During the cruise off the Yucatan, Zavala never engaged the enemy directly, but she proved invaluable in the only action that the flotilla saw. On 20 November 1840, the steamship towed Moore's flagship, Austin and the schooner San Bernard 90 miles (140 km) up the San Juan Bautista River to Villahermosa, the seat of government control in the state of Tabasco. The squadron had made a deal with federalist rebels to drive the centralistas out for $25,000, the first $10,000 to be paid up front. The federalists agreed. [7] Soon the small flotilla pointed their guns at the city and then sent troops into the seemingly deserted capital. Commodore Moore encountered a man bearing a white flag on a tree branch, and when he ascertained that this was the mayor, the Texas commodore demanded $25,000 or he would level the town. The mayor asked if silver would be acceptable, and upon receiving an affirmative reply, delivered the ransom. The commodore set sail with his booty and used the money to repair and outfit his ships. [6]

Return to Galveston and the end

Returning to her homeport in Galveston, Zavala encountered a terrible storm and ran out of coal, forcing the crew to burn anything they could put their hands on to avoid losing her in the storm. [6]

Badly damaged, Zavala was laid up in Galveston harbor awaiting repairs, which due to the state of the Republic's finances were not forthcoming. With the election of Sam Houston in 1841, the navy was no longer a priority and Zavala was allowed to deteriorate. In May 1842, she was in such poor condition that Zavala was eventually scuttled to prevent her sinking.

The wreck

Clive Cussler, founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, located the hull of Zavala (archaeological site 41GV95) beneath a parking lot in the former Bean's Wharf area of the harbor in 1986. In Clive Cussler's NUMA Files series of adventure novels, one of the main characters is named Jose 'Joe' Zavala after the ship. [6]

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Texan schooner <i>Brutus</i>

The Texan schooner Brutus was one of the four ships of the First Texas Navy (1836–1838) that during the Texas Revolution wreaked havoc on towns along the coast of Mexico, blockaded Mexican ports, and captured ships bound for Mexico with goods and munitions of war.

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Texan schooner <i>Liberty</i>

The Texas schooner Liberty was one of the four schooners of the First Texas Navy (1836–1838). She served in the Texas Navy for only about 6 months, capturing the Mexican brig Pelicano loaded with weapons for their army in Texas. Later that year, she sailed to New Orleans accompanying the wounded Sam Houston, where she was repaired. Texas was unable to pay for the repairs and the ship was sold in June, 1836, to pay for the cost of the repairs. This left the Texas Navy with only three ships.

USS <i>Bienville</i>

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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.

Texan brig <i>Wharton</i>

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.

Texan sloop-of-war <i>Austin</i>

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.

Naval Battle of Campeche

The Naval Battle of Campeche took place on April 30, 1843, and May 16, 1843. The battle featured the most advanced warships of its day, including the Mexican steamer Guadalupe and the equally formidable Montezuma which engaged a squadron of vessels from the Republic of Yucatan and the Republic of Texas. The latter force consisted of the Texas Navy flagship sloop-of-war Austin, commanded by Commodore Edwin Ward Moore, the brig Wharton, and several schooners and five gunboats from the Republic of Yucatán, commanded by former Texas Navy Captain James D. Boylan. Texas had declared its independence in 1836, but by 1843, Mexico had refused to recognize it. In Yucatán, a similar rebellion had begun and was fought off-and-on from 1836 to 1846. The battle ended in a combined Yucatecan and Texan victory. A scene from this battle is engraved on the cylinder of every Colt 1851 Navy, 1860 Army, and 1861 Navy revolver.

Texan schooner <i>San Jacinto</i>

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Texan schooner <i>San Antonio</i>

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.

Texan schooner <i>San Bernard</i>

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.

Texian Navy Military unit

The Texian Navy, also known as the Revolutionary Navy and First Texas Navy, was the naval warfare branch of the Texian armed forces during the Texas Revolution. It was established by the Consultation of the Republic of Texas on November 25, 1835. Along with the Texian Army, it helped the Republic of Texas win independence from the Centralist Republic of Mexico on May 14, 1836 at the Treaties of Velasco. It was replaced by the Texas Navy on March 23, 1839.

Texan brig <i>Potomac</i>

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.

<i>Racer</i>s hurricane Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 1837

Racer's hurricane was a destructive tropical cyclone that had severe effects in northeastern Mexico, the Republic of Texas, and the Gulf Coast of the United States in early October 1837. It takes its name from the Royal Navy ship HMS Racer, which encountered the cyclone in the northwestern Caribbean. Termed "one of the most famous and destructive hurricanes of the century" by meteorology historian David Ludlum, the storm first affected Jamaica with flooding rainfall and strong winds on September 26 and 27, before entering the Gulf of Mexico by October 1. As the hurricane struck northern Tamaulipas and southern Texas, it slowed to a crawl and turned sharply northeastward. The storm battered the Gulf Coast from Texas to the Florida Panhandle between October 3 and 7. After crossing the Southeastern United States, it emerged into the Atlantic shipping lanes off the Carolinas by October 9.

References

  1. "Ships of the Texas Navy". Association of the Texas Navies. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  2. The U.S. Navy fielded the steam batteries Fulton and Fulton II before 1839. Navy Historical Center, http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-f/fulton.htm (access date 10/15/10)
  3. "The Texan Navy" (PDF). Sons of the Republic of Texas. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  4. 1 2 "Zavala". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  5. "Express from Falmouth". The Times (17072). London. 19 June 1839. col A, p. 7.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Search for Zavala and Brutus". NUMA. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  7. Jonathan W. Jordan, Lone Star Navy: Texas, the Fight for the Gulf of Mexico, and the Shaping of the American West (Potomac Books 2007), 172.

Further reading