Fortune Favors the Brave - The Story of the Texas Navy
Introduction | San Felipe: Opening Shots | Privateers | The First Navy | War with Mexico
After San Jacinto | The Second Navy | The Tabasco Incident | The Yucatán Alliance | Mutiny! | Blood Feud |
Back to Yucatán | The Trial of Edwin Moore | Epilogue | Resources & Finding Aids | Bibliography
Epilogue
The proposed sale of the Navy never took place. Parts of the steamship Zavala were finally sold, along with equipment from the Galveston Navy Yard, such as lanterns, lumber, and charts. The proceeds amounted to less than $1000.
Detail from Republic of Texas government bond (1840 $500)
Prints and Photographs Collection,
Texas State Library and Archives Commission. #1989/84.
The ships were kept in ordinary (laid up for repairs) for the next two years. In 1846, Texas was annexed by the United States, and the remaining ships—the Austin, the Wharton, the Archer, and the repaired San Bernard—were transferred to the United States Navy. The Austin was sent to Pensacola to work as a receiving ship; it was scuttled just two years later, being deemed "unworthy of repairs." The others were in such poor condition that they were immediately sold as "unfit for service." Their eventual fate is unknown.
First four pages of Edwin Moore's claims for reimbursement, May 1846 (the entire claim runs to 12 pages)
Claim of John Tod for the services of his African-American slave, Perry Marshal, 1852
Discussions of the claims was still under way in December 1855
Despite repeated attempts, the naval officers of Texas were not allowed to transfer their commissions to the U.S. Navy. In 1857, the surviving officers were voted five years' back pay in appreciation of their service. Commodore Moore, who moved to New York, also pursued a claim against Texas to be reimbursed for the debts he had incurred in the service of the Republic of Texas. In the end, Texas settled with him for $44,655.