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TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
and at the request of Commodore Hawkins, he was induced to accept. That-he fitted ont the Yessel accordingly, at New Orleans, and re- paired to Velasco, where the privateer was commissioned, and a nine months' leave of absence given him, under his commission in the reg- ular Service, with orders from the Government to cruize off Tampico and Vera Cruz, for the purpose of capturing one, or both, of two man-of-war Brigs expected by Mexico from Baltimore. That-in obedience to his orders, he cruised so long as water and pro- visions lasted, [mutilated] engaging the Forts at Tampico Bar, and Ke[eping] the Mexican coast in a constant state of alarm and on the defensive-having succeeded in capturing two schooners, which he sent for adjudication, to Velasco. That on his return to Texas, while ashore at Velasco, his Privateer was carried off by a portion of her officers and crew, it was supposed, for sinister purposes-but the master being the only navigator on board at the time, he carried her to New Orleans. That-on the abstraction of his yessel, Petitioner, having no command, rep01ie [d himself] to the Secretary of the Navy, and his lea [ve] of absence not having expired, he followed the Privateer to New Orleans,· where on boarding her, he found that the mutineers had fled, and that all his private property had been taken away. That-the Privateer having been refitted, Petitioner left New Orleans in her with only one third of the proper complement of men, for the express purpose of intercepting some Mexican vessels then about to leave New Orleans for :Mexico, with munitions of war; Whilst cruizing of the mouths of the l\Iissis[sippi] in a severe blow, the Privateer ran ashore, which obliged Petitioner to return for repairs to New Orleans. That-when at New Orleans, Commissary Colonel Thruston purchased Petitioner's prirnteer for the Texas Government, and under his orders petitioner sailed with her, fully equipped and manned to Galveston- whence he went to sea, in company with the Brutus, in the hope of encountering the ::\Iexican fleet, in consequence of a rumor which proved to have been unfounded- That-Petitioner went to the Seat of Governm[ent] and reported to President Houston in person The Secretary of the Navy being absent, the President appointed an acting Secretary, and confirmed Petitioner in his command, by issuing a new Commission, and directing him to continue his cruize. He proceeded to Sea accordingly, and cruized on the South-East coast of Mexico, running several vessels on shore, but only capturing one prize of value, namely the Brig Phoenix-the largest merchant-man belonging to Mexico, which Petitioner sent into Gal- veston.- After a cruize of nearly four months, he returned to port, in conse- quence of the wa[nt] of provisions, and again reported himself for duty. The officers and crew of petitioner's privateer tendered thier share of the prize Brig Phoenix to the Texas Government, under the belief that her capacity and sailing qualities would qualify her for a fourteen gun vessel of war; which proposal was declined by President Houst~n, on the ground that the Government was unable to equip and maintain the vessel in Service. That-in August 1837, Petitioner obtained leave of absence, for the purchase of necessaries [at] New Orleans, and the Secretary of the
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