The Battle of the Brazos River was an engagement fought in the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

on April 17, 1837, between the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy () is one of the components of the Mexican Armed Forces. The Secretariat of the Navy is in charge of administration of the navy. The commander of the navy is the Secretary of the Navy, who is both a cabinet minister and a career ...

and the

Texian Navy The Texian Navy, also known as the Revolutionary Navy and First Texas Navy, was the naval warfare branch of the Texians, Texian Texas Military Forces, armed forces during the Texas Revolution. It was established by the Consultation (Texas), Consul ...

Background

Despite

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

's victory over

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's army at San Jacinto, Texans continued to fight a

naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

war in hopes of persuading the

Mexican Government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republ ...

to agree to the independence of Texas. In March 1837, Texas Navy ship ''Independence'' prepared for another cruise to take

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William H. Wharton to Texas from

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. ''Independence'' had smooth sailing for about seven days when on April 17 she encountered the Mexican brigs ''Vencedor del Álamo'' under Francisco López and the ''Libertador'', off the mouth of the

Battle

The initial sighting of the two

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

brigs was at about 5:30 am. Outgunned and outmanned ''Independence'' fled up Brazos River for protection at the small riverside town of

Velasco Velasco (also Belasco or Belasko) is a Basque family name. According to the academy of Basque language, it is derived from the Visigothic name 'Vela' (Vigila) and the Basque suffix ''–sco''.https://www.euskaltzaindia.eus/en/ (Onomastics, Belasc ...

. The Mexican vessels pursued the Texans, eventually the two brigs came within

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

s range several hours later at 9:30 am. ''Vencedor del Alamo'' of sixteen 8-pounder guns and 140 men, sailed with ''Libertador'' of 100 men, six 12-pounder guns and one 18-pounder. ''Independence'' of eight guns total, raised her colors followed by ''Libertador'' which then fired the first broadside that had no effect. Shortly afterward ''Independence'' fired a broadside with her weather

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of one 9-pounder gun, three 6-pounder guns, and one

pivot gun A pivot gun was a type of cannon mounted on a fixed central emplacement which permitted it to be moved through a wide horizontal arc. They were a common weapon aboard ships and in land fortifications for several centuries but became obsolete aft ...

. For two hours, ''Independence'' continued up Brazos River with the Mexican brigs in close pursuit, occasionally stopping to fire on each other. By 11:30 am the Texans had reached Velasco, Captain Wheelwright had no choice but to fight to the end, apparently not being able to continue up Brazos River any further. The final engagement took place right in front of the small Texan town and

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, including Texan

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

Samuel Rhoads Fisher Samuel Rhoads Fisher was the secretary of the Navy of the Republic of Texas. He was born in Pennsylvania on December 31, 1794, and settled in Texas in 1830 with his wife and four children in the Matagorda area. He represented Matagorda Municipalit ...

. The Mexicans not being far behind came within range and Captain Wheelwright ordered his men to engage once more. The shots managed to damage the main top-gallant mast of the ''Libertador'' and after another broadside in ''Libertador''s direction, two Mexicans lay dead and a few more were wounded. More shots damaged ''Libertador''

foremast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...

and knocked out one of her 12-pounders. However, these broadsides did not slow the Mexican ships, ''Libertador'' approached ''Independence'' head on while ''Vincedor del Alamo'' maneuvered around to ''Independence''s other side. The two brigs quickly came within pistol shots range and both fired a mixture of cannon projectiles. This is when a ball smashed through ''Independence'' quarter gallery wall and into the Texan captain, taking off three of his fingers on his right hand. Severely wounded and taken below, command of the schooner passed to

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John W. Taylor who finished the last few moments of battle before receiving orders from Wheelwright to surrender. With this action the battle was over.

Aftermath

Immediately ''Independence'' was boarded, the officers and crew, as well as William Wharton and a half dozen other civilian passengers, were taken

prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

. The Texan fightingmen were barred away in Matamoros, but all of the prisoners eventually escaped or were released by the Mexican government. That same day, Mexican President

Anastasio Bustamante Trinidad Anastasio de Sales Ruiz Bustamante y Oseguera (; 27 July 1780 – 6 February 1853) was a Mexican physician, general, and politician who served as the 4th President of Mexico three times from 1830 to 1832, 1837 to 1839, and 1839 to 1841. ...

, in his inaugural address, pledges to reorganize his military to "''preserve the rights of the nation,''" which includes the reconquest of Texas. After the capture of the ''Independence'', the Mexican seamen found a long lost 8-pounder gun, which had been captured by the Texans at the

Battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto (), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Deer Park, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged and defeated General A ...

a year earlier. ''Independence'' was commissioned into the Mexican Navy's Veracruz Squadron under the name ''La Independencia'' and continued to serve in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

against the Texans.

References

* Cutrer, Thomas. "Charles Edward Hawkins". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhaax. Retrieved on 2007-09-29. * Cutrer, Thomas. "Independence". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qti01. Retrieved on 2007-09-29. * Dienst, Alex (1909). "The Navy of the Republic of Texas". Southwestern Historical Quarterly 12 (4): 249–275. http://www.tshaonline.org/publications/journals/shq/online/v012/n4/article_3.html. Retrieved on 2007-09-29. * "Ingham, 1832". United States Coast Guard. October, 2003. http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g%2Dcp/history/webcutters/Ingham_1832.html. Retrieved on 2007-09-29. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Brazos River Naval battles involving Mexico Naval battles involving the Republic of Texas Battles involving the Republic of Texas 1837 in Mexico Conflicts in 1837 1837 in the Republic of Texas April 1837