The U. S. Naval Battery During the Bombardment of Vera Cruz on the 24th and 25th of March, 1847.
From a lithograph designed and drawn on stone by Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.
A feature of the operations alongshore that deserves mention, if only to say a good word for a brave officer, was a third attack on Alvarado. The Mexicans had collected a lot of horses there that Scott needed for the advance on the capital after Vera Cruz was taken. The steamer Scourge, under Lieutenant Charles G. Hunter, was sent to blockade the place, while a larger force was to follow to attack it. General Quitman was to get in behind and cut off retreat. Hunter arrived at the port on March 30th, and immediately captured the town with his one ship. Quitman had not yet arrived in the rear, of course, and the enemy got away with the horses. Because of Quitman’s delay, Hunter had to suffer. He had, perhaps, exceeded his orders somewhat in capturing the place, but his gallantry in taking it single-handed where a squadron was thought necessary for the task, deserved a better fate than it received. He was court-martialled and dismissed from the service. One cannot help saying that a great wrong was done, not so much because one man suffered unjustly, but because no nation can afford to punish a man beyond a reprimand for an excess of bravery and zeal.
At 8 A.M. on March 25th, the firing at Vera Cruz ceased, at the request of the Mexicans, and after a talk between the commanding officers the town surrendered on March 28, 1847, and the important work of the navy for that war was done.
It was not a great war. For the American nation it was not a creditable war. Nevertheless, the naval men, although lacking opportunity for engaging in the kind of battles for which they had been especially trained—although lacking opportunity to meet an enemy afloat—showed in their energy and persistent bravery that they would not lower the standard of efficiency set for them in the War of 1812.
The Battle of Vera Cruz.—Night Scene.
From an engraving by Thompson of a drawing by Billings.