By Ruth Ann Ruiz

The Post Newspaper Features Editor

Once upon a time, there was a navy that protected the shores of Texas. At its very beginning, it was called the Texian Navy.

There were four original Texian Navy ships, all schooners no longer than 80 feet. Aboard these four ships, gallant men of the sea served to keep away the robber barons who sought to steal the supplies coming into Texas via the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Prior to the Texian Navy being established in 1835, the supplies and shores were protected by privateers.

According to Scott Powell, who was commissioned by the governor as an admiral in the Texas Navy Association, the Texian Navy was an asset in Texas’s war of independence with Mexico.

“The Mexican government was doing all it could to shut down the water t

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