Combat· Mexican-American War
Capture of Mazatlán
The seizure of Mexico's principal Pacific port, completing American control of the Mexican west coast.
Late in 1847 the ships of the Pacific Squadron, the Independence, Congress, and Cyane, stood off Mazatlán, and a landing force of about two hundred and fifty seamen and Marines went ashore. Commodore Shubrick's "bloodless conquest" met no resistance: the town was taken without a fight, and Marines under Lieutenant Maddox were left to garrison it for the rest of the war. With Mazatlán in hand alongside the California ports already held, the United States commanded the whole length of the Mexican Pacific coast, choking off the enemy's seaborne trade on that side of the continent. No casualties resulted. The operation showed the long reach of the Pacific Squadron, projecting American sea power and a garrisoning force onto a distant coast far from the main theater of the war.
Podcast episodes on Mexican-American War
Record no. 54