Edwin Ward Moore (July 15, 1810 – October 5, 1865), was an American naval officer who also served as commander-in-chief of the Navy of the Republic of Texas.

Early life

Moore was born in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. His grandfather and uncle had served in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Moore was a classmate of

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

's at the Alexandria Academy.

Early naval career

Moore entered the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as a midshipman in 1825 at the age of 15. His first assignment came when he was posted to the USS ''Hornet'', followed by stints on the ''Fairchild'' and the ''Delaware''. He saw active service on the Atlantic Coast and the Mediterranean Sea. In 1830, Moore was stationed at the Gosport Navy Yard, and five years later was commissioned a lieutenant and assigned to the sloop-of-war ''Boston'' on July 1, 1836. While serving on the ''Boston'', Moore saved the ship from sinking when it encountered heavy seas in a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

. In September 1836, the ''Boston'' captured the Texas privateer ''Terrible'' off the coast of New Orleans. The Texas ship was sent to

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, on piracy charges. This contact with the Texans is believed to have prompted Moore to re-evaluate his military career. Promotion within the U.S. Navy at this time was a slow process, as many of the officers who served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

still held rank above Moore.

Moore's journey to and with the Republic's Navy

In 1839, Moore was accused of recruiting officers and up to 80 sailors from the ''Boston'' to join him in enlisting with the Republic of Texas Navy. Moore's cousin, Alexander Moore, confirmed this rumor to Commodore Charles Ridgley, who forwarded the charges to the

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 ...

. On July 8, 1839, Moore resigned from the U.S. Navy to become commander of the Republic of Texas Navy. U.S. Secretary of the Navy, John Forsyth, tried to bring charges against Moore based on his violation of the Neutrality Act of 1819, but Moore resigned his commission before any trial was held. From 1840–1841, he sailed off the Mexican coast to hasten peace negotiations between the Republic of Texas and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. On collapse of the negotiations, Moore returned to Texas and to the support of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar. Lamar signed a treaty with the Mexican state of

Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...

for the lease the Texas navy for $8,000 per month and to protect their ports from being

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

d by the Mexican Navy. On September 18, 1840, Moore received orders to guard the Yucatán coast in conformity with the Texas-Yucatán Treaty and on December 13, 1840, left

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, with three ships to join the small Yucatán fleet at

Sisal, Yucatán Sisal () is a seaport town in Hunucmá Municipality in the States of Mexico, state of Yucatán (state), Yucatán, Mexico. It was the principal port of Yucatán during the henequen boom, later overshadowed when the more modern port of Progreso, Y ...

, under the command of former Texas Navy officer Captain James D. Boylan. Moore later captured the town of San Juan Bautista,

Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...

, and then surveyed the Texas coast. His chart was later published by the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...

Invasion of Tabasco

In September 1840, Moore invaded the Mexican state of Tabasco in support to the Tabasco federalist forces, collaborating in the overthrow of the centralist governor José Ignacio Gutierrez, capturing the state capital San Juan Bautista on November 17, 1840. Subsequently, and due to a disagreement with the new federalist government, for the lack of a payment of $25,000 Mexican pesos promised to Moore, on December 14, 1840, he bombarded the capital again, until he reached a new agreement with the government of Tabasco for the payment of the debt.

President Sam Houston

Upon becoming President of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

suspended the treaty with the Yucatán and ordered the fleet to return to Texas. Houston was not a big supporter of the Texas Navy. When funds for naval repairs, approved by the Texas Congress, were withheld by Houston, Moore reinstated the treaty with the Yucatán in defiance of Houston's orders. Moore and two other Texas ships, along with a few from the Yucatán navy, engaged the Mexican fleet in May 1843 in the Battle of Campeche. Mexico's naval fleet consisted of the British-built ironclad steam-powered warship the ''Guadalupe'' and was the most advanced fleet ever assembled in the Gulf of Mexico at that time. Their battle was determined a draw, though Mexico suffered high casualties. The Mexican government even coined a medal of bravery for their sailors. Mexican Commodore Francisco de Paula Lopez, a naval veteran, was recalled for his failure to defeat a smaller and out-gunned force, and was court-martialed.

End of career

On January 16, 1843, the Texas Congress ordered the sale of the Texas fleet. On June 1, 1843, Moore and the fleet had received Houston's proclamation accusing them of disobedience and piracy and suspending Moore from the Texas Navy. Houston even went so far as to ask for any friendly nation to capture and execute the Texas fleet. Moore returned to Galveston on July 14, and turned himself in at the port of Menard's Wharf, a hero to the people of Texas, and demanded a trial. According to later newspaper reports he was charged by the Texas government with disobeying orders and treason (in support of the Yucatan polity), and discharged from the Texas Navy on March 21, 1843, which then led to piracy, and the hanging by Moore from the

yardarm A yard is a spar on a mast from which sails are set. It may be constructed of timber or steel or from more modern materials such as aluminium or carbon fibre. Although some types of fore and aft rigs have yards, the term is usually used to de ...

four sailors, Antonio Landois, James Hudgins, Isaac Allen, and William Simpson, which the Texians deemed murder.

Later years

After the dissolution of the Texas Navy, Moore spent many years in prosecuting financial claims against Texas. In 1844, the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

concluded that Moore was owed $26,510.41. He was paid, in installments, with the last payment coming in 1856. Moore married Emma Matilda Stockton Cox of Philadelphia in 1849. She was a distant cousin of Commodore

Robert Stockton Robert Field Stockton (August 20, 1795 – October 7, 1866) was a United States Navy commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam- ...

. In 1850, Moore and other officers petitioned the U.S. Navy to recognize their rank as officers with the Texas Navy. The House Naval Affairs Committee supported their claim, but the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

did not agree, holding that when Texas joined the Union, only property, and not human beings, belonged to the United States. On March 3, 1857, Congress finally closed the books on Moore and the other officers by granting them five years of back pay at the salaries of corresponding U.S. Navy officers. He was in New York City for a time attempting to perfect a machine to revolutionize marine engineering. His quarrel with Sam Houston over the justice of his suspension from the navy continued during Houston's term as

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. In 1860, Moore returned to Galveston, where he built the Galveston Customhouse. Moore died in New York City on October 5, 1865, of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

Memorials

* Moore County in the Texas Panhandle is named for him. An exhibit honoring Moore is at the Window on the Plains Museum in Dumas, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Moore County.

References

Sources

Edwin Ward Moore in the Handbook of Texas

External links

Texas Navy
hosted b
The Portal to Texas History
A survey of the Texas Navy during the Texas Revolution and the Republic Era. Includes maps, sketches, a list of ships of the Texas Navy, and a chronology. Also includes photographs of 20th century U.S. Navy ships named after Texans or Texas locations. {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Edwin Ward 1810 births 1865 deaths Texas Navy United States Navy officers American Presbyterians Military personnel from Alexandria, Virginia People from Galveston, Texas Burials at Ivy Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Military personnel from Texas