........................The Unknown Seldom heard of Hero of Texas.......................................
There is a man who rendered heroic service to Texas with the dignity and endurance of Austin, with the physical and moral courage of Travis and with the swagger of Bowie.
His contributions to the survival of the Lone Star Republic place him in that pantheon, but unless you've studied the Texas Navy, you don't know anything about him.
Commodore Edwin Ward Moore commanded the Texas Navy from 1839 to 1843 when a Mexican invasion by sea would have meant the end of the Republic. That never happened because Commodore Moore turned the Gulf of Mexico into the Gulf of Texas.
When congress couldn't fund the Navy, Commodore Moore decided to make Mexico pay for it. He took his flotilla up the Tabasco river to Villahermosa and extracted $25,000 from the city fathers in exchange for not leveling the city.
When that money ran out, Commodore Moore borrowed $35,000 on his signature to keep the ships afloat and the men provisioned. He was not a wealthy man, but the financiers in New Orleans knew and trusted him. The content of his character was his collateral.
When Mexico purchased the two most advanced warships in the world from Great Britain, Commodore Moore didn't hesitate to take on this threat to Texas. It was wood and sail vs iron and steam. Nobody gave the Texians a chance.
But Commodore Moore sailed the sloop-of-war Austin between the Mexican ships and got off 530 rounds before the enemy disengaged. The Mexican navy would never again pose a threat to Texas.
In 1847 Commodore Moore published A Brief Synopsis of the Doings of the Texas Navy. It was printed only once and is now a $3500 rarity.
Uncle Russ...
Topic: The Unknown Hero of Texas.. (Read 50 times)