Volume tells story of Texas Republic's Navy
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/9877866.htmThe history of the Texas Republic -- its fight for independence and eventual statehood -- is a familiar story. It is always land-based. It is always a heroic tale of riflemen and cannon.
That really makes the sailors mad.
The Texas Navy -- as unheralded as it was -- played a significant role in the development of Texas. The Texas Historical Commission recently purchased rare documents related to the state's saltwater forces, and the Texas State Library and Archives is working to craft an online exhibit.
State archivist Chris LaPlante says the new documents are contained in a single bound volume. Many of the documents illustrated in the new manuscript are already in the hands of the state, but the quality of the newer material is excellent.
"The information we get in the new documents has been available before," he said. "But this is an amazing collection."
The Historical Commission purchased the collection of documents dating back to 1843 at a New York auction. The documents detail the last two years of the Texas Navy and the controversy between President Sam Houston and Commodore Edwin Moore.
The collection includes an introductory statement by Moore, followed by documents and letters supporting his naval maneuvers and strategies. The compilation of documents represents concise history of the Texas Navy.
"Like a great number of Texans, I was not aware that the Republic of Texas had put together a small navy, two as a matter of fact," novelist and naval researcher Clive Cussler once wrote. "Despite their heroic and distinguished service, very little has been written about the exploits of the Texas warships."
Houston, it turns out, did not lavish much praise on the navy. He saw it as a financial drain on the Republic of Texas and thought it served no purpose other than to provoke a war with Mexico. That would have severely complicated his plans to annex Texas to the United States.
At one point, Houston called all the navy's officers "pirates" and asked any friendly country to capture their ships and return them to Galveston. He then dishonorably discharged Moore without so much as a court-martial.
Moore appealed his dismissal to the Congress of the Republic of Texas. Much of the evidence he presented in his trial is contained in the new collection.
The documents were purchased through auction at Sotheby's in New York for $15,600 with funds from the Texas Historic Artifacts Program established by the Legislature in 1999 with a one-time $1 million appropriation.
"We gratefully acknowledge this extraordinary gift," said Sandra Pickett, chairwoman of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. "Both current and future Texas history researchers will now have access to this significant contribution to our state's archives, which expands our existing collection of Texas Navy records. In addition, this wonderful collection will be available throughout the world when we unveil our next online history exhibit on the Republic of Texas Navy."
LaPlante, the state archivist, said the project will be completed in two to three months. "Right now we have no final deadline," he said. "It will take a lot of research; we will be very thorough."