Naval Gunboat Operations on the Rio Grande was a Mexican-American War engagement fought in Texas, 1846. It was a United States victory.
The Naval Battle of Campeche took place on April 30, 1843, and May 16, 1843. The battle featured the most advanced warships of its day, including the Mexican steamer Guadalupe and the equally formidable Montezuma which engaged a squadron of vessels from the Second Republic of Yucatán and the Republic of Texas. The latter force consisted of the Texas Navy flagship sloop-of-war Austin, commanded by Commodore Edwin Ward Moore, the brig Wharton, and several schooners and five gunboats from the Republic of Yucatán, commanded by former Texas Navy Captain James D. Boylan.
After the conservative and centralist Centralist Republic of Mexico suspended the 1824 Constitution of Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Republic of Yucatán, and the Republic of the Rio Grande individually asserted independence. The Republic of the Rio Grande declared independence in early 1840 but was defeated and reunited with Mexico within a year, well before the battle of Campeche. Texas declared its independence in 1836, but Mexico refused to recognize its declaration. The Republic of Yucatán declared independence the same year, and remained in intermittent armed conflict with Mexico from 1836 through 1846. In an attempt to quell the rebellion, Mexico attempted to blockade the Yucatecan port of Campeche. The Battle of Campeche resulted when the allied forces of Texas and Yucatan attempted to lift the blockade. The battle ended indecisively.
A scene from this battle is engraved on the cylinder of every Colt 1851 Navy, 1860 Army, and 1861 Navy revolver.
After declaring their independence from the Spanish metropole in 1821, Mexico experienced a period of political and financial instability. In an attempt to address its people's needs and voices, the Provisional Government of Mexico drafted the 1824 Constitution of Mexico. The succeeding First Mexican Republic did not eliminate the political and financial instability, which the Conservative Party blamed on the empowerment of states over the federal government as well as mass participation in the political system through universal male suffrage. After taking power in 1835, the Conservative Party suspended the 1824 Constitution. In response, Texas, Yucatán, and Rio Grande each declared independence over the next few years.
In pre-Republic Mexican Texas, tension had been rising between the Mexican authorities and settlers from the United States over the issues of individual and state rights. Further conflict arose over a ban on immigration that was largely defied by United States settlers, who continued to immigrate to Mexican Texas. By 1834, English-speaking immigrants outnumbered Spanish-speaking Mexicans. After Central Mexican government revoked their autonomy granted by 1824 Constitution of Mexico in 1835, Texians raised a rebellion. Although defeated militarily in the Texas war of independence, resulting in a commitment to self governance in Mexican Texas, the Mexican Congress refused to recognize the independence of the Republic of Texas. The Congress claimed that the agreement was signed by Mexican President General Antonio López de Santa Anna under duress as prisoner of war, and the majority of the Mexican Congress did not approve the agreement. Intermittent conflicts between Mexico and Texas continued into the 1840s.
Approximate location. The nearest recorded settlement is shown; the exact site is unrecorded.
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