Old Capitol at Houston (1837). From an old Print.
A little later the Invincible and the Brutus captured the Mexican schooners, the Obispo and the Telegraph. Both boats were sent in as prizes.
In August the Brutus and the Invincible reached Galveston with another prize. The Brutus with the prize entered the harbor safely, but the Invincible did not succeed in passing the bar. She was attacked the next morning (26th) by two Mexican ships. The Brutus started out to assist her, but ran aground and lay helpless on the sand. The Invincible held her own against the enemy all day; at nightfall she struck on the breakers. Her crew were saved, but the gallant old ship went to pieces.
The next year (1838) a new navy was voted by Congress. Several vessels were bought, but there was now no duty for them to perform. They were placed in the service of Yucatan, which was in revolt against Mexico. Some years later, when Texas was annexed to the United States, they passed into the navy of that country.
The Brutus, the last ship of the old Texan navy, was lost in a storm at Galveston Bay as late as 1867.
3. THE CAPITAL.
One of the laws of the constitution provided that no one should be allowed to hold the office of President for two successive terms. Houston’s term of office expired in 1838, and Mirabeau B. Lamar was elected President and David G. Burnet Vice-President.
The Secretary of War under Lamar was Albert Sidney Johnston. This brilliant young soldier came to Texas just after the battle of San Jacinto. He was a graduate of West Point, and had served in the Blackhawk war.
Johnston at once organized a force to act against the Indians. Lamar did not have Houston’s kindly feeling for the Red Men. He looked upon them as dangerous enemies, and he wished to rid the country of them entirely. The Indians, on their side, had been breaking the treaties made with Houston.