 |
|
LIBERTY. The sixty-ton schooner Liberty, mounting four or six guns, was known as the William Robbins before it was purchased for $3,500 by the Texas government and rechristened Liberty in January 1836, the first purchase for the Texas Navy.qv As the William Robbins, the vessel had been used as a privateer by its master, Capt. William A. Hurd,qv as early as November 1835, although the owners did not obtain a letter of marque until December 5. In January 1836 Capt. William S. Brownqv took the Liberty on a cruise seeking Mexican warships. On March 6 the Texans captured the three-gun schooner Pelicano, which was taken to Matagorda Bay and found to be carrying munitions concealed in barrels of flour. In May 1836 George W. Wheelwrightqv became captain and was in command when the Liberty convoyed the Flora to carry the wounded Sam Houstonqv to New Orleans. The Liberty was detained in New Orleans for repairs and had to be sold in July 1836 to pay the claims for repairs. In later years the crew from the Liberty petitioned the legislature for a share of the prize of the Pelicano. The Judiciary Committee ruled that in as much as the District Court of Brazoria, having admiralty jurisdiction, had condemned the Pelicano, the crew be awarded a just share of the prize.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Alex Dienst, "The Navy of the
Republic of Texas," Quarterly of the Texas State Historical
Association 12-13 (January-October 1909; rpt., Fort Collins,
Colorado: Old Army Press, 1987). Jim Dan Hill, The Texas Navy
in Forgotten Battles and Shirtsleeve Diplomacy (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1937; rpt., Austin: State House, 1987).
The Handbook of Texas Online is a project of the Texas State Historical Association (http://www.tshaonline.org).
Copyright ©, The Texas State Historical Association, 1997-2002 |