Early History of Galveston County
Galveston, Galveston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Galveston Island, for centuries a crossroad for Indians, privateers, Spanish and French explorers, for a time was capital of the Republic of Texas. This was during the Texas War for Independence, when Santa Anna was making his 1836 invasion. On March 17, the hastily organized ad interim Cabinet of President David G. Burnet evacuated Washington-on-the-Brazos, moving to Harrisburg, and then in April to Galveston. Here it remained until after the Texas Victory at San Jacinto on april 21, 1836. From January, 1836 until U. S. annexation in 1846, Galveston was the naval base for the fleet which protected shipping and sought to prevent Mexican invasion of Texas by way of the sea. By September, 1837, the four ships of the Texas Navy had all been lost. Not until April, 1840 was the Navy reorganized, under President M. B. Lamar. A former U. S. Naval officer, Edwin W. Moore, was made commodore. Afterward, when Moore became involved in a bitter controversy with President Sam Houston, Houston ordered the Navy to be sold. At the sale, the incensed people of Galveston used forceful means to prevent bidding. The ships at annexation were all transferred to the U. S. Navy.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Long a crossroads for Native peoples, privateers, and Spanish and French explorers, Galveston Island briefly became the seat of the Republic of Texas in 1836. As Santa Anna's army pushed east, President David G. Burnet's improvised cabinet fled Washington-on-the-Brazos and sheltered here until the Texan victory at San Jacinto. From this port the fledgling Texas Navy, later reorganized under President Lamar and Commodore Edwin W. Moore, guarded the coast against Mexican invasion until U.S. annexation in 1846.
Why it matters
Galveston's role as wartime capital and naval base captures the precarious first decade of the Republic of Texas, when an independent nation defended itself by sea.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Long before it was part of Texas, Galveston Island was a meeting ground. Native peoples, including the Karankawa, lived along this coast for generations. European explorers from Spain and France passed through, and in the early 1800s privateers used the island's sheltered harbor as a base. The best known is Jean Lafitte, who operated from Galveston around the end of the 1810s. The island sat where the Gulf met the mainland, which made it valuable to anyone who wanted to control the coast.
In 1836 that position became vital to a brand-new nation. Texans had declared independence from Mexico that March at Washington-on-the-Brazos, and Santa Anna's army was advancing east across Texas. The Alamo had fallen. The rebel government had no fortified capital, no treasury to speak of and an army still retreating.
For the young Republic, the sea mattered as much as the land. Supplies, volunteers and money came by ship, and Mexico could send invading troops the same way. Whoever held the coast could keep Texas alive or strangle it. Galveston, with its natural harbor, became central to that struggle.
People & events
On March 17, 1836, the interim government of President David G. Burnet fled Washington-on-the-Brazos ahead of the Mexican advance. The cabinet moved first to Harrisburg and then, in April, to Galveston Island. For a few tense weeks, this island was the refuge of the Republic of Texas government, a government on the run with the enemy close behind. It stayed until news arrived of the stunning Texan victory at San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, which secured independence.
From early 1836 until annexation in 1846, Galveston was also home port for the Texas Navy. Its ships protected commerce and guarded against a Mexican invasion by sea. By September 1837, however, all four vessels of that first navy had been lost. The Republic went without a fleet until April 1840, when President Mirabeau B. Lamar reorganized the navy and named Edwin W. Moore, a former U.S. naval officer, as its commodore.
What followed was one of the Republic's most bitter feuds. Moore clashed fiercely with President Sam Houston over the navy's orders and its future, and Houston finally ordered the ships sold. Galveston's residents saw the navy as their own and weren't about to let it go. When the sale was held, they used forceful means to keep anyone from bidding. The ships stayed in Texas hands, and at annexation they were transferred to the U.S. Navy.
Its place in the American story
The Texas Revolution and the Republic that followed are central to the story of how the United States reached the Pacific. Texas existed as an independent nation for nearly a decade, and its annexation in 1846 helped spark the Mexican War, which in turn brought the vast Southwest into the Union. Galveston stood at the front of that decade, first as a temporary seat of government and then as the Republic's naval base.
The Texas Navy is often overlooked, but it shows that an independent Texas was a real nation with real national burdens. It had to defend its sea lanes, pay for warships and argue over whether it could afford them. The clash between Houston and Moore reflected a genuine question that the Republic never fully resolved: how a small, cash-poor country could protect a long coastline.
The Galveston crowd that blocked the navy sale also shows something lasting about American politics: local people deciding that a national institution belonged partly to them. When the ships finally joined the U.S. Navy at annexation, they marked a symbolic handoff of one nation's defenses to another.
If you visit
Stand near the water and imagine the harbor as a naval base: small sailing warships at anchor, anxious officials watching the horizon in the spring of 1836, and a whole government wondering whether the next ship would bring rescue or invasion. The island's low, open landscape makes it easy to see why whoever controlled the coast mattered so much.
Galveston is packed with history from many eras. You can see how this 1830s chapter fits into the island's later story as a major Gulf port and as the city that rebuilt after the devastating hurricane of 1900. The historic downtown and waterfront districts reward an unhurried walk.
For a full Texas independence road trip, pair Galveston with the San Jacinto Battleground near Houston and Washington-on-the-Brazos inland, retracing the route of the fleeing government in reverse. Few trips let you follow a nation's birth so closely, from its declaration to its desperate retreat to its final victory.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · David G. Burnet
- · Sam Houston
- · Edwin W. Moore
- · M. B. Lamar
Related events
- · Texas War for Independence
- · Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Warren D. C. Hall
Galveston, TX
North Carolina-born Warren DeWitt Clinton Hall came to Texas early and threw himself into the military expeditions that challenged Spanish and Mexican rule. At the time of the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 he was serving as acting secretary of war for the young Republic of Texas. He later practiced law and lived in Galveston until his death, and a Panhandle county bears his name.
Henry Journeay
Galveston, TX
A New York native, Henry Journeay (1815–70) joined the fight for Texas independence, serving in the army of Texas in 1836. Six years later he took part in the ill-fated Mier Expedition, a Republic of Texas raid into Mexico that ended in capture for many of its men. His grave marks a life bound up with the violent birth pangs of the Lone Star Republic.
Nicholas D. Labadie
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Born in Canada in 1802, Nicholas Descomps Labadie trained first for the priesthood, then for medicine, before coming to Texas in 1831 to serve as a post surgeon. During the Texas Revolution he served as surgeon and infantryman, and at the decisive battle of San Jacinto he interpreted Santa Anna's surrender to Sam Houston. He settled in Galveston, where he became a leading physician, businessman, and supporter of the city's Catholic church and charity hospital.
William Tennant Austin
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Connecticut-born William Tennant Austin came to Texas in 1829 and threw himself into its revolution, fighting in the 1835 Siege of Bexar and serving as aide to his distant relative Stephen F. Austin as well as to Generals Burleson and Houston. He commanded the Port of Velasco, held county offices, and worked as a customs collector before moving to Galveston as a cotton factor, later serving the Confederacy in the Civil War.