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In the 1830s, Mexico endured a tragic era
of internal political instability. Meanwhile, bold American
frontiersmen sought their fortunes beyond the borders of the United
States, with many settling in the Mexican territory of Texas. In
1835, these transplanted Americans led a revolt against Texas's
embattled rulers in Mexico City. Lone Star Navy chronicles the
little fleet of wooden warships, bought on credit by an
impoverished band of revolutionaries and sent to sea on a singular
mission: to win Texas's independence from Mexico. Beginning with
four small sailing vessels, the upstart flotilla became a vital
counterpart to Texan armies fighting for an independent republic.
Indeed, Capt. Jeremiah Brown's naval battle off Matamoros in April
1836 helped save the fledgling republic from a premature end. But
even as it battled for independence on the Gulf of Mexico, the
Texas navy came under attack from unexpected enemies. The same
fierce individuality that led Texans to shake off their Mexican
rulers also stymied their efforts to govern themselves with any
consensus. Lauded by its advocates as strategically vital and
ridiculed by its detractors as a farcical waste of money, the navy
became a flashpoint in a clash of visions. Denied adequate funding,
sailors and officers suffered long periods without pay, and their
vessels fell into chronic disrepair, but they still defended their
small nation's fortunes. The decrepit remains of the battle-scarred
fleet finally fell into American hands when Texas, in need of a
strong ally, was annexed by the United States in 1845. The Mexican
government prophesied that relinquishing Texas would lead to the
loss of its other northern territories. And, indeed, the Mexican
War and the U.S. acquisition of New Mexico, Arizona, California,
and parts of Utah, Colorado, and Nevada soon followed. |
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| ISBN-10: 157488512X ISBN-13: 9781574885125 |
Hardback - October 2005 |
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£21.00
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