The First Battle of Tabasco was fought during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, in October 1846, in an attempt to capture cities along the

Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...

coast.Bauer, K. J., 1974, ''The Mexican War, 1846-1848'', New York: Macmillan,

Background

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

David Conner of the

Home Squadron The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the Atlantic slave trade, make coastal surveys ...

, received orders from

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

George Bancroft George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts ...

to "exercise all the rights that belong to you as commander-in-chief of a belligerent squadron" in establishing a

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

of the Mexican east coast. On 14 May 1846, Conner established his base at Anton Lizardo, Veracruz and placed

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

, Alvarado,

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

, and Matamoros under blockade. Commodore

Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a United States Navy officer who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He led the Perry Expedition that Bakumatsu, ended Japan' ...

was named as Conner's replacement in the fall of 1846, and suggested capturing "Tabasco", otherwise known as San Juan Bautista along the Tabasco River. On 16 October, Perry left Anton Lizardo with the

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

s ''

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

'', '' Vixen'' and ''McLane'' and the

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

s '' Reefer'', ''Bonita'', ''Nonata'', and '' Forward''. On 23 October, Perry captured Frontera and moved upriver, finding Tabasco the next morning at 9 am.

Battle

Lt. Col. Juan B. Traconis withdrew his 700 men from the town allowing Perry to occupy the town by 5 pm, capturing five Mexican vessels. However, at night, Perry recalled his landing party and Traconis's forces returned to the city, barricading themselves inside buildings. Traconis received a delegation of U.S. Marines who requested their surrender, but responded "Tell Commodore Perry that I would sooner die with my garrison before handing over this place." Perry realized that a bombardment of the city was the only option to drive out the Mexican troops, but would harm noncombatants, so he decided to retreat to Frontera with his prizes. On the morning of October 26, the Mexicans started firing on Perry's ships who replied in kind. As the U.S. troops began to bombard the town, the flagpole of the Mexican headquarters was shot through and fell. The Americans, believing that this signalled a surrender, stopped firing and sent a delegation to investigate, receiving the same answer as before from Traconis, who then fixed the flagpole to the tower of the Church, and the battle recommenced, continuing until evening. The foreign merchants asked for a ceasefire, which Perry complied with, but when one of his prizes was grounded and then fired upon, Perry once again returned fire, while continuing on to Frontera.

Aftermath

Perry managed to establish a naval blockade with the U.S Revenue Cutters ''McLane'' and ''Forward''. after many preceding failures.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabasco, First Battle of Mosquito Fleet Campaign Naval battles of the Mexican–American War October 1846

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading

External links