For more than a century and a half Texans have honored the heroes of the Texas fight for independence. But the courageous seamen of the Texas navy have been all but forgotten. The fought the fury of the Gulf storms and braved the guns of a powerful fleet for more than a decade, all the while reviled as outlaws by their president, Sam Houston. But against all odds they triumphed. They dominated the third coast of North America, the Gulf of Mexico, from New Orleans to the Yucatan. Their control of these waters was critical to the very existence of the struggling republic.This is the heroic story of those seaborne Texans who were often outnumbered, usually outgunned, but never outsailed and never, ever outfought.