The San Felipe incident was the first naval engagement of the Texas Revolution, opening maritime supply lines for Texian rebels.
Key Facts
- Date
- September 1, 1835
- Texian ship
- San Felipe (armed merchant vessel)
- Mexican warship
- Correo de Mejico
- Mexican captain
- Thomas Thompson, British-born American citizen
- Duration
- Day-long pursuit before capture
- Notable passenger
- Stephen F. Austin, en route after Mexican imprisonment
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Thomas McKinney deliberately armed the merchant ship San Felipe with munitions destined for Texian revolutionaries and dispatched it from New Orleans to Brazoria. The Mexican navy warship Correo de Mejico had been actively seizing smuggling vessels carrying arms to Texas rebels, creating a direct confrontation between Mexican naval enforcement and Texian supply efforts.
On September 1, 1835, while the San Felipe was offloading cargo to the vessel Laura near Brazoria, the Correo de Mejico approached. Both Texian ships responded aggressively, firing on the warship and pursuing it for a full day before capturing it. Captain William Hurd arrested the Correo's commander Thomas Thompson and his crew, bringing them to New Orleans on charges of piracy.
The capture of the Correo de Mejico and its commander Thompson eliminated the primary Mexican naval threat along that stretch of coast. With Thompson's ship neutralized, the maritime route for arms and supplies into Texas was opened, facilitating the continued flow of rebel reinforcements and materiel that would sustain the broader Texas Revolution.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
William Hurd.
Side B
1 belligerent
Thomas Thompson.