of the Texan territory (6.) During this time, Texas began the building of its own Navy. By the authorization of the provisional general council the Texas Navy was to be made up of four schooners. The first ship to be commissioned was the former United States treasury cutter Ingham, and was rechristened Independence. The second ship was twice as large as the Independence and was commissioned as the Brutus. Another ship that joined the Navy was the William Robbins but was renamed the Liberty. A fourth warship named the Invincible was commissioned as a member of the fleet. These four vessels made up the early fleet of the Texas Navy and were crucial elements of the Republic in preserving their independence (6.) The first action seen by the new fleet was when the Liberty was on a semipiratical cruise to the Yucatan and encountered the Mexican merchant schooner Pelican and captured her. The vessel laid a prize concealed within its cargo of 300 kegs of powder and other military supplies. The ship was ran aground at Matagorda, but the cargo was salvaged and later used to defeat President Lopez de Santa Anna and his forces in the San Jacinto campaign. Later, the Liberty captured an American brig Durango that was loaded with powder and supplies and was falsely manifested. The cargo was appropriated and the vessel was destroyed. At the same time, the Invincible seized an American brig Pocket that contained contraband materials while under a false manifest to the Mexican Army near the Rio Grande. The charter on the vessel also stated that a secondary shipment of Mexican troops was to be taken to the Corpus Christi area. Sometime after Pocket was purchased by the Republic of Texas and the vessel was commissioned in the Texas Navy as the cargo helped defeat the Mexicans (7.) The naval victories were a much needed source of strength that would help combat the Mexican Army that were driving right into Texas uncontested, because Santa Anna was moving ...
