Combat· Mexican-American War
Marine skirmish at Palos Prietos
One of the small actions fought to break the Mexican blockade of the newly taken port of Mazatlán.
After the Pacific Squadron seized Mazatlán without a shot in November 1847, the Mexican commander drew a close ring around the town, and the Americans had to fight to keep their lines open. In a brush at Palos Prietos, on 19–20 November, an American landing force, with Marines among it, engaged and routed a Mexican party in a sharp little fight, part of the effort, alongside the harder action at nearby Urías, to push the besiegers back from the port. Once the blockade was broken and defensive works thrown up, Mazatlán stayed in American hands for the rest of the war. The skirmish was one of many minor engagements by which the Marines and sailors secured the foothold on the Mexican Pacific mainland against persistent local resistance.
Podcast episodes on Mexican-American War
Record no. 343