| In
August 1835, in an act of deliberate provocation, merchant
Thomas F. McKinney sent his schooner San Felipe
from New Orleans to Brazoria, heavily armed and loaded
with munitions meant for Texas revolutionaries. Also on
board was Stephen F. Austin, just released from his imprisonment
in Mexico. His presence was no coincidence, as Austin's
ordeal had convinced him that peace with Mexico was hopeless.
He was now committed to the revolutionary cause.
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Volunteers march on
Anahuac, 1835
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Sam Houston orders
the fortification of the port of Copano, 1835
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Attack on the American
schooner Hannah Elizabeth by the Mexican
warship Bravo, 1835
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On September 1, Austin,
his fellow passengers, and most of the cargo had been
transferred to a steamer, the Laura, by the time
the San Felipe was approached by the Correo.
Both ships made clear their intentions to board and capture
the other, and the battle was on. Heavy cannon and rifle
fire was exchanged for about an hour, with the Correo
getting the worst of it. The next morning, pursued by
both the San Felipe and the Laura, the
Correo was forced to surrender.
Wrecked in a battle
with the Montezuma,
the San Felipe was
later refloated
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The swashbuckling captain
of the San Felipe, William A. Hurd, placed Mexico
Thompson and his crew under arrest on charges of piracy
and took them back to New Orleans in chains. The trial
in January 1836 was a farce that climaxed with Thompson's
lawyers and United States prosecutors in a shouting match
and throwing inkstands and law books at one another. The
disgusted judge declared a mistrial and set Thompson and
his men free.
Though the trial was farcical,
the result of the San Felipe incident was not.
For a time, the San Felipe's victory cleared
the Texas coast of the Mexican naval presence, thus allowing
arms and volunteers from the United States to move unimpeded
into Texas.
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