For fans of the Texian Navy coming to the Tall Ships Galveston event this weekend, there are two vessels participating that you might want to look for. They both resemble (if you squint and use a little imagination) warships of the Texas Republic.
The schooner Lynx (above) is a replica of an American privateer from the War of 1812, launched at Fell’s Point, Maryland. In general appearance she resembles the classic Baltimore Clipper type, and is probably very similar overall to the topsail schooners used by the Texian Navy in the 1830s and 40s – in particular, Independence and Invincible of the First Texas Navy, and San Bernard, San Antonio, and San Jacinto of the Second Texas Navy. In fact, Lynx is so close that we adapted an image of her, with permission, as the header image for the Hawkins Squadron website.
The sailing school ship Oliver Hazard Perry is similar in overall size and appearance to the flagship of the Second Texas Navy, the sloop-of-war Austin. The verisimilitude is not quite as good here (that’s where the squinting comes in), but she still gives a pretty good overall impression of what Austin must have looked like back in the day.
The parade of tall ships happens this Thursday, along the Seawall Boulevard, from 1300 to 1500.
Charles E. Hawkins Squadron 