At the mouth of the Brazos River, a pivotal episode leading to the Texas Revolution unfolded in 1835 when the schooner San Felipe, owned by the Quintana trading firm McKinney, Williams and Company, approached Velasco from New Orleans carrying Stephen F. Austin home from Mexico after two years, including twenty months in prison. Expecting Mexican cruisers to blockade the Texas coast, Captain William Hurd had armed the vessel with two 6-pound waist guns, small arms for the crew, and cotton bales protecting the deck. On the afternoon of September 1, 1835, the Mexican sloop-of-war Correo Mexicano, having just captured the American brig Tremont, met the San Felipe near Velasco. The San Felipe crossed the Brazos Bar into port, and Thomas McKinney, realizing his vessel would likely be the Correo's next target, put Austin ashore, loaded armed volunteers onto the San Felipe and the steamboat Laura, and sent both ships in pursuit. After a cannon duel and an overnight chase at sea, the lightly armed Correo surrendered, and its ship and officers were sent to New Orleans on piracy charges. The encounter helped persuade Austin, one of the most influential men in Texas, that revolution against Mexico was necessary, and it was later remembered as the first naval triumph and as one of the principal causes leading to the proclamation of war.