1841 - 1845

The Texas Navy’s Lone Star Flag
(1841 – 1845)

“Although the Republic was not solvent, Jane Long sought to achieve more than solvency. She put her lots up for sale and began to prosper. She operated two boardinghouses, registered a cattle brand, and became successful as a rancher, plantation owner, and cotton farmer while Texas sought financial gain by attempting to establish a trade route to Santa Fe. The trade route was a failure. It was clear the near bankrupt nation could not stand-alone. The ships that sailed under the navy’s lone star flag were left to rot in the Galveston harbor.” – page 155, Texas Sinners and Revolutionaries, Jane Long and Her Fellow Conspirators by Jack C. Ramsay, Jr.

© - Copyright, Jack C. Ramsay, Jr. 2001

Depending On the Texas Navy Flag for Protection from Mexican Invasion

Once the Lone Star flag flew from the capitol in Austin, the nation would need a design for a flag to fly upon the ships of the Texas Navy. This would be a version that would be based on the national flag. The familiar design for the naval jack simply substituted the thirteen stripes for the two that flew over the capitol. President Lamar appointed an admiral for the operation, an able and experienced seaman who assumed the title, Commodore Moore. For a time the Navy did little more than map the Texas coasts and received financial aid from a breakaway rebel government on the Yucatan peninsula. When the central Mexican government finally established a steam-powered naval operation, Mora’s wind-powered sailing vessels were forced into a vigorous battle with steam-driven ships.  The wind-driven vessels successfully out sailed their heavily laden opponents and sent them back to harbor in complete disgrace. This was the only known sea battle between sailing ships and steam power, one that was won by the Texas Navy.

The Texas naval flag, though a variation of the lone star flags, had a deceptive resemblance to the American flag. This was helpful in confusing Mexican ships. Misleading flags on board Texas ships in 1841 were said to also include ensigns and pennants of the United States, Britain, France and even Mexico. "All is fair in love and war," at least in “war”, maybe not “love.”