Thursday, April 17, 2003

Arthur Tobias, Ed.D., 2519 5th Ave., LA, CA 90018

harvart@mindspring.com 323-737-2120

PIRATES FOR THE REPUBLIC:

ENGAGED 16 MAY 1843
By Arthur Tobias, Ed.D.
Introduction
Samuel Colts Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company introduced its new Ranger
Model revolver in .36 caliber in 1850. The cylinder featured a roll-engraved scene of a
battle between ships of the navies of the Republic of Texas and Mexico. The battle took
place in the Gulf of Mexico on May 16th, 1843.

Figure 1

The Naval Engagement Scene

The Naval Engagement Scene, as reproduced on the cylinders of Colts 1851 Navy (as
the Ranger Model came to be called) and 1860 Army revolvers, is a familiar sight to
collectors and historians of Sam Colts oeuvre. Yet knowledge of the circumstances
surrounding the image may be as faint as the scene itself on well-worn Colt revolvers.
What actually happened on May 16th, 1843? Who were the combatants? Where did the
battle occur and why? Why did Sam Colt choose to have this particular battle, an
obscure incident of Texas rather than U.S naval history, commemorated? What is known
about the artist who created the engraving, the sources of his imagery, and his methods?
These are the questions this article seeks to answer as, with a fresh copy of the image1
and up-to-date research, we take a thorough look at the Naval Engagement Scene.
Background: The Gulf of Mexico
Troubled Waters
The Gulf of Mexico offers severe challenges to mariners. The coast is remarkably
lacking in distinguishing features. Its long stretches of the same, monotonous vista of
low dunes and scrub pines do little to indicate location to the weary sailor. In addition to
the monotony these shores are treacherous. There are numerous chances to run aground
on the ever-present, shifting sand bars. And the waters of the Gulf are subject, especially
in the winter months, to ferocious gales that sweep all before them, re-sculpting the few
available landmarks on shore.

In response to the hostile environment of the open Gulf the early aboriginal inhabitants
kept their dugout canoes in the many bays and protected areas behind the barrier islands.
When Europeans set sail on the body of the Gulf in the 1500s tales of sailing and later
steam ships lost in sudden squalls and hurricanes became common.
For all its dangers the Gulf was a necessary, major lifeline for commerce and military
maneuvers between the settlements along its shores. The generally arid nature of the
rock strewn hills and mountains of the interiors of present-day Mexico and the U. S.
offered severe challenges to the soldier, merchant and immigrant. Travel and shipment
via the waters of the Gulf was a critical component from the beginnings of European
habitation. To get from one place to another there were two choices: a long and
wearying, dry trek overland; or a short, if potentially dangerous sail upon the Gulf.
Brigands and Pirates
In addition to the natural dangers of travel and commerce the Gulf was a playground for
brigands and pirates in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.2 In the early 1800s the
Lafitte brothers led by Jean operated out of Barataria, near New Orleans, preying on
Spanish mercantile vessels, though they were originally pledged to Spanish interests.
Jean Lafittes privateering on the Texas coast led to his forming a rebel government in
Galveston in 1817. Intrigues to make Texas leave the Spanish realm and join the U.S.
were afoot but came to nothing. In the end Jean Lafitte preferred piracy.
Struggle for domination of the Gulf waters and shores by various global sea powers over
the years made government-sponsored brigandage another real risk for sailors. Spanish
ships captured English, French seized Spanish, American ships seized those of Texas. It
was a tough playground.
Cities, States and Nations
In spite of the hazards of travel and the choice of mosquito-infested, marshy shores or
dry, hard-scrabble interiors, the Gulfs shores were attractive to settlers. Spain early on
claimed the shores and waters. The French and English offered subsequent competition
to the Spanish claims. Mexico broke with Spain to create its own Gulf empire. And then
there were those pesky folks from the newly-formed U. S. of A. As White settlers and
their Black slaves drifted into the northeastern-most state of the recently independent
Mexico they offered increasingly severe challenges to the revolutionary rulers in the
capitol city. The Mexican states swirled with intrigues as cities and whole sections
maneuvered for independence or political re-alignment. Unsurprisingly the Gulf waters
became the crucial element in the independence struggle of the nascent Texas Republic.
The Texas Republic
Texas began to seriously separate itself from Mexico in a series of bloody battles in 1836.
At the Alamo, Goliad and San Jacinto tensions that had brewed for years came to a head
as the Texans were first defeated and then emerged triumphant against the armies of
General Santa Anna. Mexico did not yield its rebellious state easily and more strife was
in store. In the history of the struggle all parties realized and sought to wield the power
of a naval presence in the Gulf.

The Navy of the Texas Republic

Texas had, in essence, two navies. The first, ill-fated navy was in effect in the period
1836 1837. The few sailing ships that comprised this first navy came to grief from a
combination of a lack of finances within the newly-forming Republic, Gulf weather, first
Texas president Sam Houstons antagonism, and plain bad luck. In 1837 the
strengthening Texas Republic appropriated funds and purchased or ordered built a new
fleet. It began to appear in force in 1839. It only needed a commander.
Enter Edwin Moore
Edwin Ward Moore was twenty eight years old in 1838 when he agreed to Texas second
president Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamars request to command the new fleet of ships.
Moore was a First Lieutenant in the United States Navy on a cruise in texas waters.
Lacking chances for advancement in a crowded field of junior officers in a stagnant
peace-time navy, the bright and energetic young Virginian (he had attended school with
Robert E. Lee) must have been sorely tempted by the Texas offer. He risked courtmartial on charges of treason by joining the service of one nation while still in service to
another. To add fat to the fire Moore not only agreed to command the Texas Navy while
still a member of the U.S. force, he actively recruited other U.S. sailors to do the same3.
He barely escaped prosecution when he resigned his U.S. naval commission in July of
1839. Moore was in New York City at the time, where fate had just inter-twined his life
and that of another brash, bright, energetic young risk-taker, Samuel Colt.
Moore and Colt
After accepting the commission from president Lamar in 1838 Moore received a
purchase order for sidearms for Texas4. Being interested in the latest technology of his
day he naturally gravitated toward the new revolvers of the Patent Firearms
Manufacturing Company. Upon arrival in New York in the Spring of 1839 he went to
Colts Broadway store. Here he met John Ehlers, Treasurer and soon-to-be-owner of the
Company, and examined Colt wares. The first invoice for Colt arms for Texas was dated
August 3rd, 1839. It included 50 carbines, 50 belt pistols and parts. A second invoice
brought the total to 180 of each type, plus accessories. A number of the pistols and
carbines eventually ended up on Moores flagship, the Austin.
While there is no record that Edwin Moore met Sam Colt at this time, Moore wrote to
Colt several years later. In his letter he speculated on the terrific advantage the firepower
of a boarding party armed with Colts revolvers would have given his forces had they
closed with the Mexicans in 1843.
Moore and the Texas Navy
Following his recruiting and purchasing activities on the East Coast Edwin Moore set out
for Texas, arriving there in October 1839. Five ships were awaiting the new Post Captain
commanding5 in Galveston. The pride of the fleet was the steam-ship Zavala. This sidewheel steamer put the Texas Navy at the front of its class. Unfortunately the infant
Republic had neither money nor the industrial capacity to support a steamer. There were
not many qualified mechanics on the East Coast of the U. S., let alone in a region where

the capitol building in Austin was a two-story log house. The Zavala never saw action
against Texas foes and by 1844 lay partially scrapped in Galveston harbor. The other
ships Moore saw were schooners, outfitted with cannons, and a watering vessel called the
striped pig.
In time additions (more purchases) outnumbered by deletions (vicissitudes of Gulf
weather, finances, and Texas politics) enhanced the quality while reducing the quantity of
the Republics fleet. When Moore sallied out to meet the Mexican Navy off Campeche
in May 1843 he had two sailing ships, the Wharton and the Austin. The brig Wharton
(formerly the Colorado) was 110 feet long, displaced 405 tons, and mounted sixteen 18pound medium-range guns. The Austin was 125 feet long, displaced 500 tons, and
mounted twenty 24-pound columbiad guns6. It was the newest ship of the Republic, the
Commodores flagship, and was described variously as a sloop-of-war and a corvette.
The Mexican Navy
Mexico was a nation in flux. In the capitol Mexico City governments came and went. At
the edges states continually schemed to break away from the center. Texas was just one
of these rebellious places. The Yucatan peninsula was another. In the Gulf, Mexico had
positioned a small fleet, rebuilt in 18427, meant to help keep control of the rebels. The
navy started with the schooner Aguila, armed with seven Paixhan 42-pound (effective)
guns. These guns had been recently developed by a French Army officer to throw
explosive shells at a long range. There was also the steam tug Regenerador which gave
the sailing ships advantage in calm seas. Added to these ships by capture that year were
the brigantine Mexicano, 16 guns; Iman, 9 guns; and two 3-gun ships, the Campecheano
and the Sisaleno. Mexican Commander Tomas Marin, a fair match for Moore in bravura,
had rested these ships from the Yucatecans.
Small and medium sized sailing ships, even armed with advanced weaponry, are one
thing. What really made the Mexican Navy a threat in the Spring of 1843 was the
purchase of two modern, side-wheel steamers from England. The Guadalupe, 775 tons,
200 feet long and armed with two 68-pound Paixhan swivel guns was the first steam
warship built of iron. The Moctezuma was larger at 1,111 tons and 204 feet, and boasted
two 68-pound Paixhans and six 42-pounders. All the guns of the two steamers were
larger and had greater range than anything Moore could field. Additionally, most of the
officers and much of the crew of the two Mexican steamers were English and trained to
the ships they sailed. Though the upcoming spat in the Gulf was decidedly small
potatoes as far as naval engagements were concerned it was closely watched by naval
authorities around the world. Long range exploding shells such as the Paixhan guns
threw demanded armored ships. Steam and armor were just emerging on the worlds
oceans though the era of the American clipper ships was still to come. A new age was
glimmering off the Yucatan peninsula.
Off Campeche, 16 May 1843
The future of the infant Texas Republic was in doubt in 1843. This was due in part to the
machinations of the re-elected 3rd President of the Republic, Sam Houston. He believed
that a weak, seriously threatened Texas would garner the sympathies of the large nation

to the Northeast, the U. S. He was maneuvering for statehood. Any serious challenges to
Mexican force were considered to be tactical violations of his strategy. He hated Edwin
Ward Moore for keeping the Texas Navy together. Houston tried everything to restrain
the young man who had thrown himself heart, soul and pocketbook into the cause of
Texas. He strangled the financial lifeline to sustain the navy. Moore anted up with his
own money. Houston sent commissioners to conduct the sale of the two operable ships
Moore had in New
Orleans for fitting.
Moore convinced one of
the commissioners to
defect to his side.
Houston sent orders for
Moore to sail his ships to
Galveston and give up his
command. Moore and
his ragtag collection of
officers and sailors
headed out on the
treacherous Gulf waters
and pointed their bow
sprits toward Mexico.
In their on-again-offagain rebellion against
the Centrist Mexican
government the
Yucatecans were at it
again in the Spring of
1843. This was good
news for the besieged
people of Texas. As long
as the Mexican Navy was
Figure 2
The Gulf of Mexico
tied up supporting the
army on the Yucatan
peninsula Texas was spared. But the Mexican hammer in the hands of General Ampudia
was poised to strike Texas a deadly blow once the peninsular rebellion was squashed.8
Commodore Moore and the Texas Navy had a history with the Yucatan rebels. In 1841
the rebels had struck a deal with then-President Lamar to provide naval protection from
the Mexican central government to the tune of $8,000 per month. This brought badly
needed cash to the Texas Navy. It was again a fresh infusion of Yucatan gold that helped
Moore sail his two ships out of New Orleans on the mission to save Texas from imminent
peril in 1843.9
The two Texas ships had intelligence that the Mexican steamer Moctezuma was
offloading troops at Telchac, north of Campeche. Moore raced to try to engage the

steamer with the advantage of numerical odds. He was too late. An informant in New
Orleans had warned of the Texans sailing and the Moctezuma was recalled 24 hours
before Moore reached Telchac. He sailed on to Campeche, reaching there on April 29th.
The 30th dawned fair. At 4 a.m. Moore saw five Mexican ships 10 miles to the south and
the flagship Guadalupe taking on coal to the east. Unbeknownst to the Commodore
Yellow Fever was raging through the Mexican fleet. The commander of the Moctezuma
had just died and 40 sailors on that ship were laid up in their hammocks, out of action.
Moore maneuvered his two sailing ships to get between the Guadalupe and the rest of the
Mexican squadron.
It was an uneven contest from the start. The two steamers could move at will. Their
action was independent of the wind. The rest of the Mexican squadron and the Texans
were at the whim of natures breath. Hours went by as the day brightened and the Texans
tried to get within range of the Mexicans. Finally the Mexican steamers opened fire. The
gunners failed to find the range and the explosive Paixhan shells fell harmlessly in the
Gulf waters. At 9 a.m. the wind dropped and Moores sails drooped. He rigged his
anchors for instant action and served his men grog. The Mexican steamers did not seek
the advantage for two hours. Perhaps a combination of Yellow Fever, unmotivated
mercenaries, and the strain of communication between English officers and Mexican
conscript sailors caused the delay. When they did renew the attack Moores ships replied
in kind and took advantage of a fresh breeze to get under way. The cannons boomed
from the two steamers and the two sailing ships and terror reigned on the decks. A 68pound Paixhan shell smashed through Moores flagship Austin. It did not explode and no
lives were lost. The Wharton lost several sailors from direct hits. Spies later reported
that the Mexican ships lost 20 men in all: scores were wounded. Both sides ceased firing
just before noon. The Texan ships sailed into the port of Campeche. The action, though
not decisive had broken the Mexican stranglehold on the peninsular rebels. It also sent
shock waves through the Mexican governments command structure. The most modern
navy in the world had just been routed by two sailing ships manned by sailors clothed in
rags. The Mexican fleet commander was relieved of duty, arrested and court-martialed.

Figure 3

Ormsbys Wharton and Austin

In Campeche
Moore and his
men were
welcomed by
ecstatic throngs.
The mayor,
knowing that the
Texans were
disadvantaged,
had several longrange cannon
taken from his
fortifications and
added to the

Texas ships. In the following days Moore and his men looked for favorable winds so
they could renew the fight. On May 16th the wind obliged and the Austin and Wharton
sailed out of harbor at dawn. They just missed receiving the challenge posted to Moore
that day from Mexican Commander Tomas Marin, in which he predicted that the Aztec
Eagle would bury the intrusive Yankees in the waves.

Figure 4

Ormsbys Mexican Navy

On the waters of Campeche Bay, as the besieged citizens once again watched from the
battlements of the walled town, Marins challenge went up in smoke. The two Texan
ships were followed by several smaller Yucatecan ships (two armed schooners and four
armed sloops) that had agreed to provide armed support. In the shake-up following the
first embarrassment the Mexican government had withdrawn the sailing ship Aguila. The
steamers Guadalupe, Moctezuma and Regenerador, followed by two armed brigs and
three armed schooners, moved to the fray from the Centrist side.
History is replete with stories of failure to take advantage of new technologies. It takes
time for military men to shake old habits. That certainly would seem to be the Mexican
case in Campeche Bay on 16 May 1843. An armored steam ship furnished with long
range guns firing explosive shells, and another steamer similarly armed, ran before two
relics of the past. Of course it probably made a difference that the relics were manned
mostly by ardent partisans commanded by an officer of singular bravery and vision, and
the technological marvels were manned by fever-ridden mercenaries and sullen
conscripts. Still, what happened that day was startling.
The Mexican squadron moved to the Southwest. In pursuit Moore, with his Yucatan
allies lagging ever further behind, drove in pursuit. At 10:00 a.m. with the Texas ships
within three miles of the Mexicans the wind died. By 11:00 the wind had picked up
enough for Moore to continue pursuit. At the range of 2 miles the Mexican ships
opened up with their Paixhans. At first the shells fell short, but soon they ripped into the
Austins rigging, holing the sails. Moore ordered his guns to fire when the range closed
to two miles. For the next four hours, until 3:00 p.m., the battle raged. Soon the Wharton
fell behind on the vagaries of the breeze. Alone the Austin sailed on. For fifteen miles
the Texan ship, Moore in command, chased the two steamers down the coast. At one
point the Austin was able to run between the two steamers and Moores batteries boomed

from both sides of his ship raking the fleeing Mexicans. On board all three ships chaos
offered to overwhelm military discipline as shot and shell tore wood, rope, cloth and
flesh. Eventually Moore had to break off pursuit because to maintain the same tack was
filling his hold with Gulf water pouring in through a large hole near the water line.
Cursing his luck Moore turned the Austin back toward Campeche to save his ship.
The Aftermath
Two sailors had been lost on board the Wharton in a gunnery accident. Moores Austin
had three killed and twenty-two wounded, many by splinters torn from the decks as the
Paixhan shells exploded. The Guadalupe lost forty-seven killed, suffered thirty-two
amputations, and had sixty-four wounded. The Moctezuma reportedly suffered forty men
killed and twenty seriously wounded. It was the first instance of the use of exploding
shells in naval combat and the last time sail would defeat steam. At no time had the
Texan and the Mexicans closed to less than 1 miles. Never close enough to use the
Colt revolvers and carbines on board.
Both sides claimed a victory. Mexico had a medal struck proclaiming such. Meanwhile
Moore still spoiled for a fight and continued gamely sallying out to try and engage the
Mexican ships, even though the 540 shots the Austin fired on May 16th nearly exhausted
its ammunition supply. Then on May 26th word was received in Campeche that Sam
Houston had declared Moore and his officers pirates. Any ship might seize them, put
them in irons, and return them to Texas.
Moore had dodged Houstons bullets as long as he could. Time was up. Following
completion of repairs and restocking food and water the Austin and the Wharton hoisted
sail for Texas. They crossed the bar into Galveston harbor on July 15, 1843, almost five
years from when Moore first saw the Texas Navy from his post on the USS Boston. The
citizens received them joyously. The sheriff refused to arrest Moore and his officers
though they had offered themselves. Sam Houston soon saw the way the wind was
blowing and signed an order on July 25th dishonorably discharging the heroes of
Campeche. The fleet was left to rot.
In August 1844 Moore was vindicated by a Texas court-martial. Over the years he tried
to further clear his name by publishing his version of events. He also sought and won
back wages and some of the personal fortune he had spent on behalf of Texas. In 1849
he married Emma Stockton Cox, sister of a defender of the Alamo10, and subsequently
moved to New York. Edwin Ward Moore died in 1865.
Colt and Ormsby
Colt and Texas
Sam Colt was no longer connected with the wares that bore his name when the Austin
chased the Guadalupe and Moctezuma down the Mexican shoreline in 1843. In
September of 1839, just as Moore completed his purchase of arms for Texas, John Ehlers,
Treasurer of the Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company became the sole owner upon
successful completion of his suit for claims against the firm. With a sum of cash and the
machinery of the gun works Ehlers also received about a thousand stand of arms in

various configurations and degrees of completion. Sam Colt was left to try his hand at
other ventures for several years.
It was Texas and Texans who got Sam Colt back into the gun business. Captain Samuel
H. Walker, U.S. Mounted Rangers came East in 1846 seeking arms for his troop engaged
in the war with Mexico. He and Colt got together and cooked up the revolver that now
bears Walkers name. The cylinder of the Colt Dragoon revolver that succeeded the
Walker is engraved with a scene commemorating the fight that another Texan, Ranger
Captain Jack Hays, made against Comanche warriors in June 1844. Hays Rangers, with
Walker as part of the company, defeated the Indian cavalry by concentrated fire from
Colts Number 5 Patterson pistols. These were the same arms Moore had carried on the
Austin in Campeche Bay in 184311. To commemorate acts of Texas courage Colt
engaged his associate, banknote engraver W. L. Ormsby.
Waterman Lilly Ormsby
W. L. Ormsby had been associated with Sam Colt since the days of the Patterson
production, having made roll-die engravings for most of the Colt cylinders of those years.
Born in Hampton, Windham County, Connecticut in 1809, he was apprenticed to a
blacksmith in 1825.12 In 1829 he trained at the National Academy of Design for a year.
He quickly established himself as a siderographer (one who engraves on steel plates for
reproduction by a steel cylinder) and is first known engraving over his own name in
Albany. In 1852 he authored A Description of the Present System of Bank Note
Engraving. In 1853 he founded the Continental Bank Note Company. Many notes of
various denominations of the period, issued by local banks around the country, bear
Ormsby engravings. He is said to have possessed an outspoken nature which often
earned the enmity of others. The three most famous Ormsby engravings for Colt (in
order of creation), the Dragoon and Indian Fight scene, the Stagecoach Holdup Scene,
and the Naval Engagement Scene13 are compact wonders of dramatic, visual storytelling.
The Naval Engagement Scene
The Process
Ormsby would have undoubtedly made some kind of preparatory sketches before

Figure 5 . Engraving the Bed Piece;

Making the Roller Die;

Engraving the Cylinder

embarking on the engraving procedure. No drawings survive. Beginning with a piece of

mild steel the dimensions of the revolver cylinder unrolled, Ormsby used sharp, hardened
steel tools to cut the lines of the design. When the design was complete the steel plate
was hardened. A mild steel, blank roller die was then passed under great pressure over
the plate. The innie lines in the plate became outie lines on the roller die and the
9

scene was reversed. After the roller die was hardened it was in turn rolled against the unblued revolver cylinders, depositing the scene in forward view as engraved lines. The
cycle was complete.
Contemporary Images
Where W. L. Ormsby got his images for the Naval Engagement Scene are not known. At
the time of the fight in 1843 a number of drawings were made in journals kept by citizens
and soldiers alike. Some of these drawings have since been published in facsimile. They
were not published in Ormsbys time. A formal view of the Austin was published in the
period. Formal views of the other ships in the engagement are not known.
Ships were a popular item to picture on paper currency of both the Texas Republic in
1839-41 and also in the
various states of the U.S.
at that time. Those on
Texas notes are thought
to be generic items in the
stock of the printing
companies, not depictions
of specific ships, though
the one shown here from
1840 features a sailing
ship with a Texas Navy
flag.14 No currency
commemorating the
Austin or Wharton can be
found, nor any with ships
engraved by banknote
engraver Ormsby15. The
types of ships used by
both Texas and Mexico
were common in the 1840
Figure 6 1840 Republic of Texas $10 Bill (detail)
1850 period. Perhaps
Ormsby simply adapted
common types to his pictorial purpose based on available documentation of the events.
The contemporary images made of the 16 May combatants in Campeche Bay show
features remarkably close to the simple yet specific representations on the Colt cylinder.
On the Mexican side we see three armed steamers (an eye-witness sketch lists the steam
tug Regenerador as having three guns). The one available surviving sketch of the
Guadalupe is very close to Ormsbys depiction. The other ships all look to be correct to
type. The two Texas ships are the Austin and the Wharton. According to one modern
source they were both three-masters16. Ormsby shows one of them with two masts. This
must be the Wharton. It is listed as a brig. Typical rigging for brigs at that time featured
two masts17. In several period sketches of the Wharton it displays the correct two-mast
rigging. Ormsby apparently got it right. The three-masted ship just behind the Wharton

10

is Moores flag ship Austin, what is known formally now as a full rigged ship to denote
its square rigging on all masts. It flies both the Lonestar flag (incorrect ,see Footnote 14)
and a pennant indicating the Post Captain commanders presence.
Reading the Scene
The Naval Engagement Scene offers us in effect a lovely, lively parade of sails, ships and

Figure 7

Colt 51 Navy with Scene

smoke. We see all the ships in one frame. We are as close as we can be. Close is the
operative word. Ormsby, for the sake of graphic force, foreswore historical accuracy at
this point. At no time were the Austin (alone) and the Guadalupe and Moctezuma
(unaccompanied by other ships) closer than 1 miles. Great for history; bad for visual
storytelling.
As has been noted in the first article in this series, Ormsby composed his scenes to be
read from left to right, as we read this page. Colts revolving cylinder passes the scene
backwards before our eyes. Well, Sam Colt was not about to reverse his engineering and
Ormsby was either unaware of the rotation difference or simply ignored it. Reading the
scene from left to right we first encounter the Texan ships proudly sailing along in pursuit
of the fleeing Mexicans. Two Texan ships. As the historical account makes clear, when
the battle was engaged only the Austin was present. Within pistol shot (where Moore
would have liked to have been), not the nearly two-mile-distance of the real event, three
steamers and four sailing ships run from the Texas barrage. The historical account
stipulates that only the two steam ships Guadalupe and Moctezuma were engaged.

11

Figure 8

What the Yucatecans Might Have Seen from Shore

Well, three tiny ships separated by the entire distance of the cylinder rotation would have
meant there was not much Scene to wear off in subsequent years. W. L. Ormsby was
creating a decorative panel, not a historical account. The Texans press forward, the
Mexicans flee. Banners and flags fly from masts as coal smoke pours from funnels and
cannons flash. Ormsby has createed a composite of the events. He has collapsed the
actors and scenes from several days into one compact picture. His style is much more of
a piece with medieval book illustrations that show a time series in one frame rather than
the photographs single, frozen moment that we are used to. In essence Ormsby sums up
the totality of the Campeche experience in a decorative frieze.
In Conclusion
The age of unalloyed heroes
battling overwhelming odds
to carry out a principled
vision seems as antique a
relic of the past as the
revolvers the Naval
Engagement Scene was
rolled on. Unashamed
commercial
commemoration of such a
hero is also a relic of a
bygone era. Edwin Ward
Moore fought against both
the enemies in front and
those behind his lines to
Figure 9
Viewing the Scene
defend the people of his
adopted state. Samuel Colt appreciated the fine character Moore displayed and chose to
pay homage in a very real, graphic way. We who collect the 51 Navies and 60 Armies
can only marvel at the character and fortitude these two men displayed in their lives, as
we hold the iron and wood relics of that bygone era in our hands.
1

Colts Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company. Proof Plate, Naval Engagement Scene. Los Angeles:
Autry Museum of Western Heritage. (The image is on a copper plate perforated at each end for display
mounting. Ormsbys credit is missing from this impression. My thanks to Laurie German of the Autry for
help in obtaining a photo of the plate.)
2
Francaviglia, Richard V., (1998). From Sail to Steam: Four Centuries of Texas Maritime History, 15001900. Austin: UT Press.
3
Wells, Tom H., (1960). Commodore Moore and the Texas Navy. Austin: UT Press.

12

Edwards, William B., (1957). The Story of Colts Revolver. New York: Castle Books.
Post Captain commanding was Moores official title. He styled himself Commodore. Considering that
he was the head of an independent nations navy he could rightly have called himself Admiral.
6
Hill, Jim D., (1987). The Texas Navy: In Forgotten Battles and Shirtsleeve Diplomacy. Austin: State
House Press.
7
Eller, E. M., (1968). The Texas Navy. Washington, D.C.: Navy Dept.
8
Meed, Douglas V., (2001). The Fighting Texas Navy. Plano Texas: Republic of Texas Press.
9
Hill, Jim D., (1987). The Texas Navy: In Forgotten Battles and Shirtsleeve Diplomacy. Austin: State
House Press.
10
Stockton, Richard L., (Accessed Tue Apr 8 14:18:57 US/Central 2003). The Handbook of Texas Online.
<http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/SS/fstch.html>.
11
Edwards, William B., (1957). The Story of Colts Revolver. New York: Castle Books, p. 99.
12
Hessler, Gene, (2000). The inventive, controversial Ormsby. The Numismatist. 113 (10), p. 1166.
13
The Naval Engagement Scene has just 1 inch (the distance from the face of the cylinder to the cylinder
stops) by 4 13/16s inch (the circumference) to tell its story.
14
Thanks to Texas numismatists John Rowe and Crutch Harris. $10 bill ship image courtesy Crutch
Williams, <www.CrutchWilliams.com>. The original Texas Navy flag was too close in color and design to
the Mexican flag and led to confusion. In 1836 the Texas Navy adopted a striped flag similar to the U.S.
flag except for one large white star on a field of blue. This is the flag Moore flew on the Austin in 1843.
15
Muscalus, John, (1976). Early Ships and Shipbuilding on Paper Money. Bridgeport, PA: Paper Money
Research Institute.
16
Meed, Douglas V., (2001). The Fighting Texas Navy. Plano Texas: Republic of Texas Press.
17
McBride, Graham (Accessed Thur Apr 17 12:27 US/Central 2003). Sailing Ship rigs. Maritime Museum
of the Atlantic. <http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/AtoZ/rigs.html>.
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