Moctezuma
Man-Of-War · Mexico · Lost 1836 · Texas & the Western Gulf
A Mexican warship destroyed in an 1836 gun duel with the Texas Navy near the Rio Grande, its identity still debated by archaeologists studying wreckage on Boca Chica Beach.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Moctezuma was a Mexican Navy warship that engaged the Texas Navy schooner Invincible near the mouth of the Rio Grande in April 1836, running aground under fire and being destroyed. Wreckage periodically exposed at Boca Chica Beach has long been associated with the story, though Texas Historical Commission archaeologists have questioned whether the remains truly belong to Moctezuma.
Vessel
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Wood
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Sail
- Mexican Navy
Loss
- April 3, 1836
- Enemy action
- Near the mouth of the Rio Grande, Boca Chica Beach
- Gulf of Mexico
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Crew escaped ashore before the ship's destruction.
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Remains exposed intermittently by storms and shifting sand at Boca Chica Beach.
- Not established
- 1999
- Protected under Texas Antiquities Code
Position
- 26.00° N 97.15° W
- Reported, unconfirmed
- Boca Chica Beach, Texas
Wreck remains have been reported at this stretch of Boca Chica Beach but positive identification as Moctezuma is disputed among archaeologists.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Sparsely documented (45/100)
Whether the wreckage found at Boca Chica is actually Moctezuma is disputed among archaeologists and remains unresolved.
Texas Historical Commission
Archaeological reassessment of the Boca Chica No. 2 site.
Index of Texas Archaeology (Chasing the Phantom Ship)
Site identity debate, history of the battle.
