Local newspapers gave Sterrett mixed revues: they acknowledged his heroism in turning Neptune around to rescue some of Farmer's passengers and crew, but charged him with recklessness for participating in the deadly race.

Sterrett would again serve as a managing partner in the Houston Navigation Company, which started with a strategy of competing for United States Mail contracts.

Galveston was a transportation hub, controlling traffic for 150,000 pieces of mail from the eastern United States to Texas and California.

[6] Sterrett was the superintendent of the Houston Navigation Company's fleet, and he assumed a similar role for the Texas Marine Department during the Civil War.

[7] His responsibility included the Brazos, Sabine, and Trinity rivers, as well as the Galveston Bay system, where the Texas Marine Department operated as many as thirteen steamships.

[8] Months after the war, he acquired two Union tinclads, Silver Cloud and St. Clair, and converted them for civilian service between Houston and Galveston.