NAVY FOR RENT

            Every story of the old west in this series is true. While many western stories have the ring of campfire tall tales you will find none here. Every story is based on fact whether about a mighty warrior humbled by flickering lights or a sea serpent said to live in a desert lake.

            Often western stories take place on endless prairies or to the crack of blazing six shooters in a gunfight on a dusty town street. But not this one. You’ll find no cattle drives or proud fierce Indian nations here. No, this one happened on the high seas. 

                                                           NAVY FOR RENT 

                                                                       by 

                                                       Michael A. McKeever 

            When people think of Texas among the first things to come to mind are the Alamo and cowboys and vast arid plains. But it has a long coastline as well facing the Gulf of Mexico. And when a country has a coast it needs a navy to protect it.

            True the Texas Navy was a small navy but when its cannons thundered on the high seas it was mighty enough. Seven ships in all, it was the pride of the Republic of Texas. Unfortunately it was also expensive and in 1839 Texas was virtually bankrupt. Without more money pretty soon there wouldn’t be a navy. Maybe not even a Republic of Texas.

            But Commodore of the Fleet Edwin Moore had an idea. Far to the south the Mexican coastal province of Yucatan was in open rebellion. The rebels there had some money but no navy. Texas had a navy but no money.

            What if, proposed Moore, Texas was to rent her navy to Yucatan for, say, $8,000 a month?

            It was an audacious scheme but with Texas President Mirabeau Lamar’s consent, the Lone Star Republic’s lethal little fleet set sail for Yucatan. For months it prowled the coast there, a thorn in Mexico’s side, raiding and taking rich prizes.

            In 1841 Sam Houston replaced Lamar as President of Texas and the last thing he wanted to do was fight another war with Mexico. He promptly ordered the fleet back to its base at Galveston on the Texas coast. Two years later government budget cuts had done what the Mexican Navy could not, they had decimated the Texas Navy. The fleet was down to just two ships and Houston intended to abolish the navy altogether.

            Meanwhile during those same two years the Mexican Navy had grown into a powerful fighting force. Two of its ships, the European-built MONTEZUMA and GUADALOUPE were among the most advanced warships in the world. Each was armored and unlike most ships of the time boasted both sails and steam engines.

            The last two Texan men-of-war were in New Orleans, Louisiana when orders arrived for them to return at once to Galveston. There both ships, the AUSTIN and the WHARTON, would be decommissioned and the Texas Navy would cease to exist.

            But it would not go quietly. Instead, cannons roaring, the Texas Navy would fight one last battle against the Mexican fleet. Against Houston’s orders, Commodore Moore set a course for Yucatan.

            On the coast of Yucatan the rebellious port city of Campeche was blockaded by Mexican warships. On the morning of April 30, 1843 Mexican naval officers were astounded to see two men-of-war on the horizon with their cannon run out and the flag of Texas snapping in the wind.

            Seven Mexican ships moved toward them. MONTEZUMA and GUADALOUPE took the lead, each twice the size of their Texan counterparts and better armed. Five of the Mexican warships held back as the two big steamers went in to finish off the arrogant Texans.

            The sky rumbled with cannon fire as the four ships battled it out. Finally at dusk the bruised Mexican ships steamed out of range to safety. To the cheers of the Yucatan rebels the AUSTIN and WHARTON sailed into the harbor of Campeche.

            Two weeks passed while the Mexican fleet was reinforced with three more ships. Then, carefully, the Mexican fleet approached with the MONTEZUMA and GUADALOUPE again in the forefront. In response the two Texan warships sailed out spoiling for a fight.

            A shot fired by the AUSTIN sent the GUADALOUPE’s mainmast crashing to her deck. The rest of the Mexican fleet again fell behind the two big warships. The AUSTIN sailed directly between the MONTEZUMA and GUADALOUPE, her port and starboard guns slamming broadsides into the Mexican hulls.

            The badly-damaged Mexican steamers broke off the fight and retreated. After giving chase for awhile the Texans returned to Campeche. There Moore received orders from an infuriated President Houston to return to Texas immediately.

            Not long afterward the Yucatan rebellion was put down by the Mexican government. In Galveston the AUSTIN and WHARTON lowered their battle flags for the last time and the scrappy little Texas Navy sailed on only in history.

                                                             --The End--