The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1898-07-08
..ALvARADO" HUNTER.
The Daring LieuteneAs
Several Mexican Towns ->A>
sinxle-Handed.

sinxle-Handed.
An incident occurred during the MeN
lean war showing how American eo
age and intrepidity may sometlmes i0.
to extremes: Vera Cruz had 1aiien an0
Gen. Scott, in order to make Det.e,
movement toward the interior, neeoeo
horses badly. Singularly enough NC
called Upon the navy to help supply the
deficiency. There were plenty OF Mex
lean cavalrymen in and about Aivaraoo,
and an advance upon the place by lana
and sea was determined upon in the
hope of securing the horses. Gen.
Ouitman, with his brigade, had orders
to proceed by land so as to keep the
horsemen of the enemy from making
their escape, while Capt. Aulick and
Lieut.. Charles G. Hunter, commanding
respectively the Potomac and Scourges
were sent up the coast to appear In
front of the town.
The idea was that an attack should
be made simultaneously by the LAND
and naval forces, but Lieut.. Hunter was
not aware of this, and as his boat was
much faster than the Potomac he ar
rived at the place of rendezvous long be-
fore his superior officer. When Capt.
Aulick finally got there he noticed q
great commotion in the harbor. The
Albany, a blockader on duty, came out
and announced that Alvarado was
taken.
by whom?' asked the commander
of the Potomac.
'By Lieut. Hunter, of the Scourge,"
was the reply.
The Scourge was very small steam
er carrying only one gun and 40 men.
Lieut.. Hunter had run up pretty close
to the place, and. observing evidence of
wavering on the part of it's defenders,
boldly fired three shots and then dashed
in and took possession. The Mexican
horsemen, whose capture was the main
object of the expedition, were fright
ened off before Gen. Quitman could in
.tercept them; but Lieut.. Hunter, all
unmindful of this, placed garrison of
one midshipman and two men in the
town and hurried up the river to Tia.
| cotalpan, another town which he also
| promptly bagged.
When Gen. Quitman arrived in Alva-
RADIO and the place was gravely handed
over to him by Midshipman Temple and
|
laughed heartily; but not so Commo-
dore M. G. Perry, when he heard of it.
The commodore was very angry, and
determined to punish Hunter, but it
| was no easy matter to catch him, as he
was continuing his victorious career
still further up the river, bent on taking
all the rest of Mexico which had been
left unconquered by Taylor and Scott.
At last he was apprehended, placed I'M
| der arrest and court-martialed. He
was sentenced to be reprimanded, and
the reprimand was to be read from the
quarter deck of every vessel in the
squadron.
The reprimand was prepared by Com
modore Perry himself, and was hui
morous affair, although not so intended
by that austere officer. In effect it ran
something like this:
''Who told you to take Alvarado?
You were sent to watch Alvarado, not
to take it. You have taken Alvarado
with but single gun and hardly ma
rine to back you"
Then it was announced that the
squadron would soon move against Ia
basco, but that, as punishment, Hun
ter should not be allowed to accompany
it, butt, instead, dismissed and sent
hcme in disgrace. And sent home he
was.
Old residents of New York will re-
member how the people made hero Of
Hunter on his arrival, giving him
swords and dinners and securing for
him the command of the schooner
fancy, in which he afterward cruised in
the Mediterranean. AS long as he lived
the gallant officer was always spoken of
as "Alvarado" Hunter-N. Y. Sun.