The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-12-01
TO THE EDITOR or rH& UNION.
UEITLD STATES SHIP ST. Mays,
OF Yera Cruz. Ocloher 10. 1916.

UEITLD STATES SHIP ST. Mays,
on Vera Cruz, October IL, 1916.
GENTLEMEN; The operations Of this ship at the
bar Of Tampico in june last, appear TO be so much
misunderstood and the newspapers throughout the
country have given such currency to mSsLatements
on the subject that cln no longer refrain from Of
ferng true account Of the affair, TO those who may
feel Inclined to correct injurious errors. The duues
of cruiser in this Gulf Increasing and yexatous
enough 10 CnIlile those whom they fail to be ex
empled from unjust snimadyerSons; and the want
of opportunity To strive for honorable distinction,
in a proessiOn whose life is IN ACTON ~ sufficiently
CALLING without the addition Of sneer, from ones
counttymen who ought 10 he able to appreciate our
efforts TO serve them. A boastlul story of the
tack at TampioO would probably have obtained for
US unmerlted commentator, just as our silence has
elected mprufyIng comments. The facts are these
On the Goth of May, Captain Saunders declared
the port Of Tampico in a state Of blockade, As
soon as this announcement was made, all Amerca u
citizens in the place received a summary order 10
depart. Al the same time, he was Informed by the
consul that he could not make any hostile demon
STATIONS without bringing the lives and property Of
our countrymen into serious jeopardy The town
Of Tampico and the bar were, at that time, in so
bad state of defence, that il might have been pos
sibIe II take the place, with the small force
under his command; but we could not have held il
many days. He lost 40 time, however, in inform
ing the OeCrtldTJ OF inc NAVY inc COulinhnulnB
| general OF the army, and Commodore Conner Of all
| these circumstances. In the meantime, he OBJ
served that the enemy was engaged in erecting
fort composed Of sand-bags on the north bank Of
| the river, to command the bar. This might have
become formidable obstacle TO the landing Of
| troops. He therefore sent word to General ParrodI
that he could not allow the construction of new de-
fences under his guns. Still the works went
on; and additional demonstrations were made
| by three gun-boats anchored across the mouth Of
the river, and going through their exercises as If in
defiance. There was great reason TO apprehend thai
these active little vessels might slip out some night
and cruise against our commerce: therefore, Captain
Saunders thought il his duty either to capture them
| or drive them further up the river, If possible.
| On the 7th Of June, the American consul took
| refuge on board this shpj and the afternoon Of
the 9th got under way, and stood in towards the
bar within range OF the sand fort. brisk cannon
ade with shot and shells drove the enemy from their
works. and thus the first object was attained. For
some days after this cannonade, the enemy appeared
| to have abandoned the new defences; but we were
informed from time TO time of the arrival of troops
200 of whom, with a feld-piece, were stationed AT
the bar. The gun-boats anchored in line, half
mile inside the bar, apparently ready to put TO sea
as soon as a dark night should favor them. The
enemy, too, having recovered from their panic re-
sumed the construction of the sand fort and armed il
with two or more pieces Of cannon. The sea had
| been tranquil, and the bar was uncommonly smooth
Now, if ever, was the time to remove all obstacles
TO the landing of troops, and TO capture or drive
away the gun-boats, that gave US such constant
anxiety, lest they should elude our vigilance. With
the small force at the captains command this could
only be effected by surprise; and this deter
mined to attempt The force to be encountered con-
sisted of three schooners, each armed with an 10 or
24-pounder, and having a crew Of thirty-6ve men,
together with the troops and their field piece, al
| ready mentioned, whose number, We afterwards
learned, had been increased, on this occasion, to
four hundred As soon night set in, on the 4h OF
June, we hoisted cut all boats, put a 9-pounder
gunnade in the launch and made other preparations
| as expeditiously as possible. We then got under
way and stood in, under the least sail, towards
| the bar, where anchored in five fathoms wa
| ter, beyond which il shoaled so rapidly that we
could get no nearer with safety. Five boats with
| IS men, (including oficers) now left the ship,
| under the command OF Lieutenant Kennedy, who
received the following simple and summary orders
viz to proceed the bar, and endeavor to effect
surprise of the gunhoats but, in Of being dis
| covered, to abandon the attempt immediately, and
return to the ship. About midnight the boats shov-
ed off, without any pilot but man recently ship
| ped, who had crossed the bar once or twice in an
English boat. The current of the river was strong;
| and the boats had long and hard pull. Suddenly,
Lieut.. Kennedy cutter took the beach, to the north
| ward of the bar, and the jumped out and shov.
cd her off. The moon now came out bright in a
| clear sky. Soon after, Mr., Kennedys boat ground.
ed again; and the man who attempted to pilot her
grew bewdered and agitated The boats tn n sep
araed, grope for the bar, taking different direc-
tons; and when Lieut.. Kennedy, thinking he had
found the bar, leading them, in line, to it,
they sauted with yolleys ofmusketry from the
beach, within pistol shot The launch returned and
silenced this fire with her gunnade. One of the
gun-boats now opened her fire also; and the alarm
became general throug bout the harbor
= - y. Ii Lieut.. Kennedy had
persisted IN the attempt, after missing the bar and
being discovered, little force of IS men, fa,igued
with long pull against a strong current, would
have had to the gauntlet in and out, past fort
mounting two guns at least, and force of 200 TO
400 men, with heldpiece; and even If he had
cseded in this, he would have mad to encounter the
fire of three gunboas, and to board them in the face
of los men, ready either to repei attack, or to
slip their cables and run up the river, with fair
wind. Thus the whole party must have been Gu,
off; and the ship, disabled by SO great loss, would
have been Obliged TO raise the blockade. In obedi-
ence his orders, therefore, Lieut.. Kennedy return
ed to tho ship. When day broke, we found that the
g,In-boats were further up the river than they had
been on the 7th; and they never afterwards came
within reach of our shot. We now reopened our
fire upon the fort, and caused it to be abandoned.
"a. .4.a. ru SUMMARY t".l.[% ..nf
The object Of the St. Mary's whose whole COM
plement Of officers and men is 30, was, by no
means, to attack the town Of Tampico, which was
miles up fortified river, and garrisoned, al
hattime, by more than thousand men. The sole
design to prevent the erection Of new fortfca-
lions, which might annoy force adequate TO take
the town at some future period, and to attempt a
surprise Of three gun-boats, which might prey on
our commerce. if they escaped us in the night. AS
the captain not personally exposed in The boats,
he may be excused for thinking that their attempt
was characterized by daring spirit, worthy the
best days of the navy, and that il deserves the adj
miration of those who from ignorance of the facts
have assailed their countrymen with ungenerous
sneers.
am, very respectfully, yours, -. $500.
'...' '"'.' '' ~ AN OFFICER.