Combat· Mexican-American War
Garrison of Point Isabel and Fort Polk
The first American amphibious response of the war, mounted before war was even formally declared.
After Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande and attacked General Taylor's forces in late April 1846, the Home Squadron acted quickly to secure his vital supply base on the coast. From 8 to 13 May, a body of about five hundred sailors and Marines from the frigates Cumberland, Raritan, and Potomac and the sloop St. Marys went ashore at Point Isabel and Fort Polk, near Brazos Santiago, to garrison the depot that supported Taylor's Army of Occupation on the river. The landing came just before the declaration of war on 13 May. No fighting attended it. The Marines of these ships would go on to form the core of the Gulf Squadron's landing forces in the operations that followed, and the securing of Taylor's coastal base was the navy's first contribution to the war.
Podcast episodes on Mexican-American War
Record no. 347