Siege of Veracruz
Encyclopedia
For other battles at Veracruz see Battle of Veracruz (disambiguation)
Battle of Veracruz (disambiguation)
Battle of Veracruz may also refer to:*Battle of Veracruz , a French attack on Veracruz during the Pastry War*Siege of Veracruz , an American attack on Veracruz during the Mexican-American War...


The Battle of Veracruz was a 20-day siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...

 of the key Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 beachhead
Beachhead
Beachhead is a military term used to describe the line created when a unit reaches a beach, and begins to defend that area of beach, while other reinforcements help out, until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived. It is sometimes used interchangeably with Bridgehead and Lodgement...

 seaport of Veracruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...

, during the Mexican-American War. Lasting from 9-29 March 1847, it began with the first large-scale amphibious assault conducted by United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 military forces, and ended with the surrender and occupation of the city. U.S. forces then marched inland to Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

.

Background

After the battles of Monterrey
Battle of Monterrey
In the Battle of Monterrey during the Mexican-American War, General Pedro de Ampudia and the Mexican Army of the North was defeated by U.S...

 and Buena Vista
Battle of Buena Vista
The Battle of Buena Vista , also known as the Battle of Angostura, saw the United States Army use artillery to repulse the much larger Mexican army in the Mexican-American War...

, fighting in northern Mexico subsided. Much of Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...

's Army of Occupation
Army of Occupation (Mexico)
The Army of Occupation was the name of the U.S. Army commanded by Zachary Taylor during the Mexican-American War.-Creation:On April 23, 1845 General Zachary Taylor was appointed to command the 1st Military District along the Texas/Louisiana border. On April 27 Taylor received orders to move with a...

 was transferred to the command of Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....

 after the battle of Monterrey. After deliberating on the next course of action, Scott and other Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 officials came to the agreement that a landing would be made at Veracruz, which would provide the Americans a point for a further advance inland. Mexican military intelligence knew in advance of U.S. plans to attack Veracruz, but internal government turmoil left them powerless to send crucial reinforcements before the American assault commenced.

U.S.

U.S. Expeditionary Force — Major General Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....

  • 1st Division of Regulars — William J. Worth
    William J. Worth
    William Jenkins Worth was a United States general during the Mexican-American War.-Early life:Worth was born in 1794 in Hudson, New York, to Thomas Worth and Abigail Jenkins. Both of his parents were Quakers, but he rejected the pacifism of their faith...

    • 1st Brigade — Colonel John Garland
      John Garland (general)
      John Garland was a career United States soldier in the Regular Army who had a long and distinguished career spanning fifty years of service during the War of 1812, Seminole Wars, Mexican-American War, Utah War and very briefly into the American Civil War.-Early life and career:Garland was born in...

    • 2nd Brigade — Colonel Newman S. Clarke
      Newman S. Clarke
      Newman S. Clarke was a career military officer in the United States army who served with distinction during the Mexican-American War.Clarke was born in Connecticut and served in the United States Army during the War of 1812. At the outbreak of the Mexican-American War in 1846, he was appointed...

  • 2nd Division of Regulars — David E. Twiggs
    David E. Twiggs
    David Emanuel Twiggs was a United States soldier during the War of 1812 and Mexican-American War and a general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...

    • 1st Brigade Brigadier General Persifor F. Smith
    • 2nd Brigade — Brigadier General Bennet Riley
      Bennet Riley
      Bennett C. Riley was the seventh and last military governor of the territory of California before it became a U.S. state. He also served as a general in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War.-Life:Riley entered the U.S. Army at an early age...

  • 3rd Division of Volunteers – Robert Patterson
    Robert Patterson
    Robert Patterson was a United States major general during the Mexican-American War and at the beginning of the American Civil War...

    • 1st Brigade — Brigadier General John A. Quitman
      John A. Quitman
      John Anthony Quitman was an American politician and soldier. He served as Governor of Mississippi from 1835 to 1836 as a Whig and again from 1850 to 1851 as a Democrat and one of the leading Fire-Eaters.-Early life:John A. Quitman studied Classics at Hartwick Seminary, graduating in 1816...

    • 2nd Brigade — Brigadier General Gideon J. Pillow
    • 3rd Brigade — Brigadier General James Shields
      James Shields
      James Shields was an American politician and United States Army officer who was born in Altmore, County Tyrone, Ireland. Shields, a Democrat, is the only person in United States history to serve as a U.S. Senator for three different states...

  • Dragoons — Colonel William S. Harney
    William S. Harney
    William Selby Harney was a cavalry officer in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War and the Indian Wars. He was born in what is today part of Nashville, Tennessee but at the time was known as Haysborough....



Home Squadron — Commodore David Conner
David Conner (naval officer)
Commodore David Conner was an officer of the United States Navy, whose service included the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. During the 1840s, he served on the Board of Navy Commissioners and as the first Chief of the Bureau of Construction, Equipment, and Repair.Conner was born in...

; Matthew C. Perry

Scott requested special landing craft for his expedition, which were constructed in Philadelphia by George M. Totten.

Mexican

Veracruz was considered to be the strongest fortress in the Western hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...

 at the time. Brigadier General Juan Esteban Morales commanded a garrison of 4,390 men which manned three major forts guarding Veracruz:
  • Fort Santiago — south end of town
  • Fort Concepción — north end of town
    • These two forts included 3,360 men and 89 guns: Artillery, 2d and 8th Infantry Regiments, 3d Light Regiment, a picket of 11th Regt., Puebla Libres, Orizaba, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Tehuantepec National Grds. Battalions, Sappers and Enlisted Marines.
  • Fort San Juan de Ulúa
    San Juan de Ulúa
    San Juan de Ulúa, also known as Castle of San Juan de Ulúa is a large complex of fortresses, prisons and one former palace on an island overlooking the seaport of Veracruz, Mexico.-History:...

     — offshore on the Gallega Reef. Gen. Jose Durán with 1,030 men and 135 guns: Artillery, Puebla and Jamiltepec Activo Battalions, Companies of Tuxpan, Tampico and Alvardo Activo Battalions.

Landings

The American Army/Navy force arrived off Veracruz in early March. Scott surveyed the defenses and concluded that the city would not fall to an artillery bombardment alone. He selected the landings to take place at Collado Beach 3 mi (4.8 km) south of Veracruz. The 1st Regular Division under Worth was chosen to make the landing. Conner's ships moved to within 90 yd (82.3 m) of the beach to supply covering fire if necessary. At 03:30 on 9 March, the 1st Division in the specialized landing craft was rowed ashore. Just before the main force touched the beach, a gig dashed ahead, and General Worth jumped out into shoulder deep water and waded ashore to be the first man on the beach. Worth's whole division landed without firing or receiving a single shot. By 23:00 on that first day, Scott's entire army had been brought ashore without a single man lost: the first large scale amphibious landing conducted by the U.S. military was a success.

Envelopment

Once ashore Patterson's division began marching northward to effect a complete envelopment of the city. One of Patterson's brigades under Gideon Pillow drove off a Mexican cavalry at Malibrán, cutting off the city's water supply. Quitman and Shields managed to drive off cavalry attempting to prevent the investment
Investment (military)
Investment is the military tactic of surrounding an enemy fort with armed forces to prevent entry or escape.A circumvallation is a line of fortifications, built by the attackers around the besieged fortification facing towards the enemy fort...

. Three days later, the U.S. had completed a 7 mi (11.3 km) siege line from Collado in the south to Playa Vergara in the north.

Investment

A storm blew in and prevented Scott from landing his siege guns for a time. In the meantime, the besiegers were plagued by sorties from the city and guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...

 attacks. Colonel Juan Aguayo used the cover of the storm to slip the Alvarado
Alvarado, Veracruz
Alvarado is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city also serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is located 64 km from the city of Veracruz, Veracruz, on Federal Highways 180 and 125...

 garrison into Veracruz. General Patterson expressed his opinion that the city should be taken by storm. Scott declined such a notion, stating he wished to lose no more than 100 men. On 18 March, the artillery arrived, and Scott concluded he could reduce the city with what he had, but not Fort Ulúa. On 21 March, Commodore Matthew C. Perry, Conner's second-in-command, returned from Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, after making repairs on the , with orders to replace Conner in command of the squadron. Perry and Conner met with Scott regarding the Navy's role in the siege, and Perry offered six guns that were to be manned by sailors from the ships. Back on shore under the direction of Captain Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....

, a battery emplacement was constructed 700 yd (640.1 m) from the city walls with the army and naval siege guns put in place. On 22 March, Morales declined a surrender demand from Scott, and the American batteries opened fire. The Mexican batteries responded with accuracy, although there were few American casualties. Congreve rocket
Congreve rocket
The Congreve Rocket was a British military weapon designed and developed by Sir William Congreve in 1804.The rocket was developed by the British Royal Arsenal following the experiences of the Second, Third and Fourth Mysore Wars. The wars fought between the British East India Company and the...

s were fired into the defenses and started a fire in Fort Santiago which drove the Mexican gunners from their post. Mexican morale began to drop.

On 24 March, Persifor F. Smith's brigade captured a Mexican soldier with reports that Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...

 was marching an army from Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

 to the relief of Veracruz. Scott dispatched Colonel William S. Harney
William S. Harney
William Selby Harney was a cavalry officer in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War and the Indian Wars. He was born in what is today part of Nashville, Tennessee but at the time was known as Haysborough....

 with 100 dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...

s to inspect any approaches that Santa Anna might make. Harney reported about 2,000 Mexicans and a battery not far away, and he called for reinforcements. General Patterson led a mixed group of volunteers and dragoons to Harney's aid and cleared the force from their positions.

Surrender

With reports such as these, Scott grew impatient with the siege and began planning for an assault on the city. On 25 March, the Mexicans called for a cease-fire to discuss surrender terms. Mexican officials pleaded that the women and children be let out of the city. Scott refused, believing this to be a delaying tactic and kept up the artillery fire. On 25 March, Morales' second-in-command General José Juan Landero y Coss stepped in to save his commander the disgrace of surrender and called for a truce with the invaders. A three-day negotiation followed. On 29 March, the Mexicans officially surrendered their garrisons in Veracruz and Fort Ulúa. That day, the U.S. flag
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...

 flew over San Juan de Ulúa.

Results

Three days and nights of bombardment resulting in the surrender of Veracruz opened the east coast of Mexico to U.S. forces. Scott had kept his promise of minimal casualties: 13 killed. Another factor Scott had less control over was the yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....

 that had begun to settle in on his army. However, Scott still began immediate plans to leave a small garrison at Veracruz and march inland, his first objective being Jalapa
Xalapa
Xalapa-Enríquez, commonly Xalapa or Jalapa, is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the year 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat reported a population of...

. Along the way, Scott would in fact encounter a sizable Mexican army under Santa Anna at the Battle of Cerro Gordo
Battle of Cerro Gordo
The Battle of Cerro Gordo, or Battle of Sierra Gordo, in the Mexican-American War saw Winfield Scott's United States troops flank and drive Santa Anna's larger Mexican army from a strong defensive position.-Battle:...

.
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