Combat· Mexican-American War
Failed cutting-out expedition at Tampico
An early and unsuccessful stroke against one of the Gulf's principal ports.
On 24 May 1846 elements of Commodore Conner's Home Squadron, Marines among them, attempted a cutting-out expedition against shipping at Tampico, combined with a shelling of the place. The attempt did not succeed, and the surviving accounts do not preserve a clear casualty figure for the Marines involved. It was one of the squadron's first probes against the strongly defended Mexican Gulf coast, where the difficulty of operating against fortified ports and shallow, bar-bound harbors would dog American efforts for months. The failure at Tampico in the spring was a foretaste of the hard work the Gulf operations would require, but the port could not hold out indefinitely: it was taken by the Americans later in the year, in November 1846, when the squadron returned in greater strength.
Podcast episodes on Mexican-American War
Record no. 349